Veterans Day 2025

 

(Full disclosure: While I am a veteran with an honorable discharge, I never saw combat. I was never deployed overseas. I am in no way comparing my service with those who have gone in harm’s way and acquitted themselves with honor and valor.

 That said, I am not apologizing for my service. I once made a humorous, self-deprecating reference to my time in an Army band to a career Naval office. He asked me if I did everything requested of me to the best of my ability; I said I had.

 “That’s all any of us do,” he said. “They just need different things form us.)

 I attended a Veterans Day rally at Union Station in Washington DC, mainly to add a face to the crowd; I didn’t expect to hear much I hadn’t heard before.

 I was wrong. Again.

 A speaker, a combat veteran, mentioned he is sometimes made uncomfortable when people thanks him for his service. In light of the current government  and how it got there, he said he’d much rather people take that time to ask themselves if they are worth serving.

 Think about it. Thousands of jobs have been cut from the VA; services are fewer. Some military families receive food stamps. Voting for people who implemented such policies makes you complicit. How willing would you be to potentially lay down your life for someone unwilling to ensure you’re taken care of when you need it?

 There are two many people, especially suit-wearing MAGgots, who, when they say, “Thank you for your service,” leave unsaid, “so I didn’t have to go.” The Secretary of Defense – Congress has to vote to make an official name change to the Department of Defense – so much as said current service members are weak in front of a roomful of flag officers (and television cameras) while he flogged his new book. Is that someone worth serving?

 The Secretary of Homeland Security has turned ICE into a secret police force that pulls small children from school to use as hostages so their parents will have to come for them, where the parents are locked up. She signs off on raiding entire apartment buildings in the middle of the night, turning everyone into  the street regardless of age or infirmity, in the hope of finding someone undocumented. Is she worth putting your life on the line for?

 The second man in line for succession to the presidency, the Speaker of the House, had his chamber out for 54 days. None of the people’s work was done while he kept House Republicans away from Washington and refused to swear in a new representative in a cynical effort to keep from possibly having to release documents that might show his boss is a pedophile? (Make no mistake: Mike Johnson works for Donals Trump.) Is he worth enduring the depredations of a career in the military?

 And then there’s the Abasement-in-Chief, a man who has no bottom and stays up late seeking new ways to prove it. Is he worth serving?

 Millions of Americans made this possible with their votes. If you are one of them, are you worth asking someone else to die for your safety, when you showed so little concern for others? “We were lied to.” Of course you were. You knew that going in. Trump had done nothing but tell easily discerned lies since he came down the escalator. You wanted to believe them, for reasons of your own.

 “What can I do about it now?”

 Write or call your representatives. Attend rallies. Send money to resistance organizations. Work to evict those who enable this administration from positions of power. Do something. Millions of your fellow Americans, young men and women from all levels of society, are willing to take potentially mortal risks to keep you safe.

 As Tom Hanks said to Matt Damon at the end of Saving Private Ryan: “Earn this.”

 

 

Sit Rep 5 November 2025

 My spirit was willing to go to DC every day of the current five-day protest event.

 Alas, the flesh was weak.

 Yesterday I got off Metro at Union Station to check in on the 24x7 veterans’ protest, then walked to the Washington Monument for the main event. Hung out there for a couple of hours, got a hot dog, then joined the march to the Capitol. All in all I had a great time.

 My feet did not.

 Today is a maintenance day so I’ll be ready to go tomorrow when the focus of activity will be the Supreme Court, which will conference at 9:00 to decide whether to take the case that could reverse the decision that made gay marriage legal in all fifty states. There’s a veterans’-related event on Sunday but the details (when, where, what) are TBA, which means my participation is TBD. It kills me to say it, but I have reached an age where how I’m going to feel physically after an event has to factor into my decision whether or not to participate.

 Yesterday’s key takeaways:

 ·       I saw a lot more people of color than I have in the past. This can only be a good thing. I understand Black and brown folks place themselves at much more risk than I do at such an event, but they also have a lot more to lose. If they’re safe anywhere, it’s surrounded by several thousand people who they can be sure have their backs.

·       The speakers need to take some public speaking lessons. Ranting to a crowd that already agrees with you and is motivated enough to come out doesn’t do much. Repeatedly chanting, “Trump must go!” doesn’t move the ball. Tell us how you intend to do it.

·       Two notable exceptions: the DC congressional delegate and a college student who came in from Connecticut. Both were eloquent and inspiring, especially the student. I forgot my notebook so I don’t have their names, but this young man may be someone to keep an eye on.

·       I made a point along the march to thank all the groups of cops we passed, whether Metro, Park, or Capitol. Without exception they smiled and nodded. There was no friction between the protestors and law enforcement.

·       I came across a retired Army Master Sergeant in full dress blues, hash marks to his elbow, and enough medals to make him list to the left were he not such a formidable man. I thanked him for coming out, as presences such as his refute the arguments made by MAGgots about the protestors better than any verbal exchange. His reply: “I’m right where I’m needed: where the fight is.” He carried a large “Fuck Trump” flag near the head of the entire march.

·                I came to realize “Foxtrot Delta Tango” is used as a military identifier. The Beloved Spouse™ bought me a shirt with that embroidered on it; I wore it yesterday. On my way to the Mall a gentleman passed me. Without preamble he asked, “Which branch?”

“Regular Army.”

“Marines. Have a good day.”

“Hoo-rah, Marine.”

He smiled.

·       One excellent speech had its message ripped out when the speaker compared the non-violent protests we’re seeing now to the abolition movement and how their non-violent protests got slavery abolished. Had I encountered her later I would have reminded her of that whole Civil War thing.

·       A regular speaker at Refuse Fascism events is an avowed Communist who openly says he wants not only to take down Trump, but the whole “inherently corrupt system.” I ‘m all in on the anti-fascist aspects, but the oath I swore that keeps me motivated against Trump also prevents me from wanting anything to do with this guy, as I firmly believe the Constitution is fine; it’s the people executing it who are fucked up. With that in mind, I think of World War 2, where we had to partner with the Soviet Union to defeat fascism. We need to work together to defeat Turmp, then the speaker and I can go back to Cold War-ing each other.

 I’d like to do more, but I also realize physical limitations imposed by age, as well as personality issues prohibit a lot of things. (I’m not a joiner and have little patience for meetings. Decide what needs to be done and I’ll decide whether I’m in or not.) That said, I’ll be there tomorrow, I’ll be there in a couple of weeks when the next wave of protests hits, I’ll continue to write to my elected officials, I’ll forward confirmed news, and I’ll send money when I can.

Lessons From the World War II Museum

 The Beloved Spouse™ and I extended our trip to New Orleans for the Bouchercon readers’ conference by a couple of days to complete our tour of the World War II Museum. We went a few years ago when The Sole Heir was living in NOLA but, as advertised, you can’t do much more than scratch the surface of this museum in one day.

 

I’ll not go into everything we learned and enjoyed. The web site gives a good idea, but you really need to go if you’re interested in the war. What I will talk about today is the twenty-minute multi-media presentation we saw in the Freedom Theater.

 

From the web site description:

The Priddy Family Foundation Freedom Theater … offers audiences a multimedia experience focused on what was at stake during World War II and the meaning of Allied victory. The production… highlights how freedom almost vanished from the world in the 1930s and 1940s, efforts to protect and promote freedom during and after World War II, and how each generation has a responsibility to defend democracy, protect freedom, and advance human rights.

 

They should take this show on the road. Everyone needs to see it.

 

For those who wonder how what happened in the 1930s and 1940s relates to us – and there are apparently a goodly number who do – the parallels are striking. Events in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy so closely resemble so much of what is taking place here and now that I felt uneasy through that part of the presentation. Examples include:

·       Referring to people who were not members of the ruling demographic as ‘sub-human.’ (Nazis: Jews. MAGA: immigrants.)

·       Blaming all the nation’s ills on those people.

·       Policies based on demonstrably false statements that became more outrageous as time went on.

·       Denouncing anyone who dared point out these lies as ‘enemies of the people’; or ‘enemies of the state.’

·       Violations of the rule of law to consolidate power in an ever-tightening cadre of officials.

·       Claiming a leader with dictatorial powers is what the people want.

I could go on, but you already stopped reading if you don’t get the picture yet,.

 

Our fathers and grandfathers fought and died to prevent such an ideology from taking over the world. It sickens me to see how many of their descendants are not only accepting such an ethos, but welcome it. We stand at a precipice where, in the words of John Stuart Mill, “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” Or, as Eldridge Cleaver said more recently, “There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem.”

 

The time has passed for thoughts and prayers. Chicago showed what can be done when the federal government, undone by a coup from within, overreaches. The irony of who must stand up to a repressive government hellbent on destroying our rights having been reversed 180 degrees from common conservative dogma cannot be met with mere acknowledgement. Action is required.

 

Different people will be called to do different things based on their abilities. Some are not physically able to march or demonstrate; others may not be able to subject themselves to possible arrest or tear gassing. Still more can’t afford to send money. That’s understood. Only about ten percent of an army faces the enemy. Everyone else is support, and yours is desperately needed.

 

Letters and phone calls are effective when sent in sufficient numbers. A hundred thousand emails and phone calls should be more productive than a single petition with 100,000 signatures.

 

There is no guarantee of victory. There is a guarantee of defeat if we stand by and let someone else take care of this for us. With a few exceptions, the Democratic Party has proven unable to meet the current challenge in any effective manner; we must pick up their slack. You’re either for the America we were taught we lived in, or you’re against it.

 

After Action Report 21 August 2025

 Yesterday I went to downtown Washington DC to see firsthand the effect, if any, of having the National Guard and federal law enforcement supplement the DC police in the most touristed area of the city: the National Mall. Estimated walking distance from onthegomap.com: 6.61 miles. (Editor’s note: I am too old for this shit. Next time I get such a brilliant idea I’m going to drink a frosty cold glass of Sit the Fuck Down until it passes. Or a piping hot mug, depending on the season.)

 I don’t know that I accomplished much apart from satisfying my own curiosity and showing about a dozen people old white man are not all MAGA assholes. Highlights included, in no particular order:

·       I spoke to 12 National Guard troops on the Mall. Regardless of what we think of 47’s decision to put them there, all of them were polite and friendly young men who were happy to talk to me. They represent us well and we should be proud to have such fine young men in our service.

·       When I ask if their current duty was the kind of thing they signed up for, the majority declined to comment, often citing “operation security.” I get that. I was among the first to be trained in co-ed companies back in 1980. 60 Minutes came on the base to conduct interviews. My company was called into formation, where SSG Willie Green gave us the following pep talk: “Those TV people may ask you your opinion. Your opinion is, you gots no opinion. Dismissed.” There are rights you sign away when joining the military. The Army is very clear about that, and I get it. I respected those Guardsmen’s position and did not push.

·       One commented that this was what he signed up for, “to see the country. I’m loving this.” When I asked about the specific task, he cited operational security.

·       A soldier from West Virginia remarked on what a beautiful city Washington is, and how he’ll be back.

·       My favorite response to “Is this the kind of duty you signed up for when you enlisted” was, “Absolutely……..not.”

·       I saw no federal law enforcement outside of a Capitol Police K-9 officer patrolling the grounds and two DHS police officers talking to a couple of Amtrak cops in Union Station.

·       I saw 46 National Guards I did not speak to, either because of distance or walking in the wrong direction.

·       Six young men who were obviously military were sightseeing on their day off and having a ball.

·       I encountered only two DC cops. One drove by on his motorcycle. The other gave me directions when I asked. She, too, could not have been nicer.

·       I spoke with a handful of Guardsmen at the Union Station Metro and learned they’re being put up in local hotels. I have to wonder how much of this “emergency deployment” is a way to get hoteliers off the Administration’s back by replacing some of their lost tourist revenue with National Guards.

·       I saw quite a few uniformed troops while eating lunch in Union Station’s food court, but all but a handful were either eating or carrying bags of food. Those who were not were being escorted in the direction of the food court by an Amtrak cop.

·       Not a trace of ICE.

·       A major surprise: At least half the people I saw walking around as tourists spoke Spanish to each other.

·       This one’s for you, Charlie Stella: I followed the sounds of sirens, thinking there might be police activity. What I found were half a dozen Palestinian protesters with noise generators, banging on pots and pans to protest events in Gaza. I went round to all of them to give a thumbs up and shake hands.

·       A park ranger at the Vietnam Memorial said he didn’t feel any more, or less, safe with the National Guard in town. He did say the memorial was popular with the uniformed Guards..

The end result is I’m tired and I’m sore and I don’t think I accomplished anything except for spreading goodwill to a dozen or so people and working off some of my own frustrations. On the other hand, I did find three restrooms on the Mall for future reference, which is a big deal for a man with a prostate five months shy of seventy years old and taking medication that encourages – no, demands – frequent urination.

The March of History is Not Pre-Ordained

 Those of us born in the 1950s have seen great improvements in the quality of life across the board, not the least of which are the improvements in the lives of those who have traditionally been marginalized. Women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and non-Christians all saw their status improve through the 60s and into at least the early 80s. It became easy to believe such improvements were the natural order of things.

 

Now we’re faced with the rollback of all that and then some. Authoritarians – the politically correct term for fascists, which has itself become the PC term for Nazis – would have you believe this is the natural order. White men should rule a semi-feudal world in which everyone else either falls into line or disappears. Voluntarily, if they choose, but someone will come for you if you’re slow to get the message.

 

The good news is, they’re wrong. The trend of human history has consistently been toward more independence and cooperation. It has not progressed in a straight line – history never does, no matter how inevitable things seem in retrospect – but the trend is clear.  Taking a step or two back for every two or three forward is frustrating for those who have to live through it, especially if one believes the passages in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that refer to “all people” or “no person may be denied.” I am convinced the pendulum will again swing in our direction.

 

The bad news? Well there are a couple of items on that list:

1.    My generation may not live to see it.

2.    It’s not going to happen at all unless more people get off their asses.

 

We’re in this predicament, in large part, because over a third of registered voters didn’t bother to do so last November. Now that we have concrete evidence of 47’s intent, we’re hamstrung by the LibDem belief that how you say something is more important than what you say and dear God we don’t want to piss anyone off.

 

I follow several groups that showed promise of being Resistance leaders in the early days of 47’s administration; too much of their efforts focus on requesting signatures on online petitions, donations, or small local gatherings. One in particular has damn near sprained its collective shoulder patting itself on the back for delivering a petition to Congress with 75,000 signatures.

 

Why am I so dismissive of this? It only shows that 0.16% of registered Democrats were outraged enough to make two mouse clicks. This is not going to move the needle. Would it not be far more effective for their senators and representatives to have received 75,000 e-mails or phone calls or letters? Even better, for 75,000 people to show up at the Capitol, preferably with pitchforks and torches?

 

“But most people don’t live close enough to Washington to get there.” True, but. There are 6.3 million people in the DC metro area, which is largely blue. Seventy-five thousand is only 1.19% of that.

 

The Beloved Spouse™ and I took part in the Women’s March in January 2017 to protest what was then 45’s inauguration. Crowd estimates ranged from 500,000 to 1.2 million. That crowd gathered to protest the mere threat of what 45 might do.

 

Now we’re faced with the reality of what 47 is doing. I went to the Women’s March in January, and other rallies and protests in March, April, May, and July 4. In my admittedly crude estimation, the 2017 event drew more bodies than everything I’ve seen this year combined. (It is only fair that I point out I was unable to attend the “No Kings” rally on June 14.)

 

The Vietnam War protests worked because they generated sufficient outrage within the general population to convince elected officials to get us out. Not by blowing up buildings; that only pissed people off. I’m talking about the large-scale protests that attracted media attention and showed the nation at large how people who were practicing non-violent civil disobedience were being beaten and gassed. When the powers that be saw people were serious enough to risk arrest or worse, things changed.

 

Today we face a far more existential crisis. Where is everyone? Why hasn’t there been a mass rally in Washington DC since June 14? Is it harder to get permits? Fuck the permits. The 47 administration has no reason to grant such permits, because those are the kinds of events that will generate media attention, much as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights rallies that clogged the Mall in the 60s and 70s did.

 

Or the “rally” at the Capitol January 6, 2021.

 

Where is the outrage? You post memes on Facebook? Stop jacking off to make yourself feel better and take action that might accomplish something.

 

There are several things wrong with the Resistance right now, but among the most troubling is the absence of a leader to coalesce around. Someone who’s not afraid to call for mass civil disobedience. That’s what it took for civil rights, and to end the Vietnam War. That’s what it’s going to take here. Many more people with their hearts in the right place need to put their asses there, too.

 

If someone comes to me with information about a gathering where civil disobedience will take place and I can get there, I’ll go. That’s why I’m so worked up. I am unaware of any such activities.

 

I’ll keep looking, though

(This was drafted a couple of weeks ago. Since then several officials, mostly governors, notably Gavin Newsome, have begun to step up. I applaud their efforts and hope they inspire others who seek our votes and spend our money to do the same.)

 

(PS

You might well wonder what I’m doing aside from blogging and posting to social media. It’s a fair question.  So far I’ve attended half a dozen marches and rallies in Washington, donated several hundred dollars to organizations such as those I’m now disenchanted with, along with the ACLU, which will get the lion’s share of any future giving. I sent e-mail to two or more elected official three times a week, and have written letters to administration officials and the Supreme Court to oppose some of the more egregious transgressions. I’m going into DC August 21 to walk the Mall and ask any uniformed National Guards I see if acting as an army of occupation is what they signed up for.)

It's Time to Melt ICE

 There’s a reason ICE personnel wear masks and do not provide ID:

·       An 82-year-old Pennsylvania man who’s lived in this country legally for 38 years was captured and deported while at an immigration office to replace the green card that was in his lost wallet.

·       People are arrested as they enter or exit their legally scheduled – and supposedly legally binding – immigration hearings.

·       Children are taken from school so their parents can be arrested when they come to pick the kids up. (The technical term for this is ‘hostage taking.”)

·       Criminals are released to provide more throughput to deport asylum seekers. (Per the Cato Institute: “New Data on Trump’s Border Security Record: Releasing Criminals to Jail Asylum Seekers.” If you’re not familiar with the Cato Institute, it is not a bleeding heart liberal organization. It’s a libertarian think tank founded in 1977 by Charles Koch, among others.)

·       An entire Puerto Rican family was taken into custody in Milwaukee for speaking Spanish. Puerto Ricans are American citizens.

You don’t need me to go on in this vein. The daily outrages are easy to find.

 

ICE is the closest thing we have in this country to the Gestapo. They must be resisted by all available means, including civil disobedience and disruption of operations when necessary. I always said defunding the police was bullshit, but eliminating ICE may be necessary to preserve the rule of law in what is left of our democracy.

 

ICE officers are not heroes, keeping America safe from foreign criminals. If they were, we’d see reports of the arrests and deportation Eastern European mob members. ICE enforcement personnel and cowards, hiding behind masks because they know what they’re doing is wrong. They’re thugs, because they’re committing acts of illegal physical violence.

 

And they are violating the oath they took when they got the job and should be subject to the penalties outlined in 18 USC 1918/5. To wit:

 

“I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

 

The Fourth Amendment reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

 

ICE, and their capo di tutti capi, also known as 47, freely admit they violate this on a routine basis.

 

ICE has to go. We’ll need something in its place, but the core of the organization is so vile we’re going to have to burn it down and start from scratch. After locking up quite a few of the current regime.

Polite Resistance is Acquiescence

The other night The Beloved Spouse™ and I watched Anthropoid, a World War 2 thriller based on the true story of the mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution,” and known as “The Butcher of Prague.” It’s an excellent film on multiple levels and I highly recommend it.

 

It's also thought-provoking, given our current situation. Make no mistake, I am not comparing conditions in the United States in 2025 to what existed in Prague in 1938. What those people lived through is too hideous to contemplate. Even the worst of 47’s plans for immigrants and other chosen groups pale in comparison to the execution 5,000 Czechs in retaliation for Heydrich’s assassination, or the routine taking of hostages to “encourage” the betrayal of Resistance fighters.

 

Watching the film, I tried to put myself in the place of several of the characters, including those who lived in Czechoslovakia all along, and those who got out and parachuted back in to aid in the Resistance; I couldn’t do it. My personal experience makes a true understanding of their courage and self-sacrifice beyond my comprehension.

 

There is one similarity that struck me: the Czechs had no idea how long they’d have to keep this up. Chamberlain had sold them out and they were on their own until the United Kingdom entered the was after the Nazi invasion of Poland a year after Anthropoid takes place. (In fairness, the Brits were training those who parachuted back into Czechoslovakia to support the Resistance.)

 

Our situation is similar, if not as dire. We need to make up our minds to show courage and a willingness to sacrifice if we are to keep 47 and his MAGgots from destroying everything accomplished in this country over the past 100 years. While our conditions are nowhere near as bad as those faced by the European Resistance fighters during the war, we do lack one thing that helped to sustain them once the war was fully joined.

 

No one is coming to save us.

 

The time for polite talk and gatherings has passed. Chants of “Trump must go now!” are meaningless, given the current makeup of Congress. The encouragement of “good trouble” is masturbatory so long as “good trouble” means gathering, chanting, and marching with permits.

 

The upper echelons of the MAGgot movement are laughing at us. Does anyone reading this thing 47 or Vice President Possumfucker or Auschwitz Barbie or AG Barbie HHS Secretary Jack D. Ripper gives half a fuck about any of that?

 

They have to at least be inconvenienced. Gatherings of several hundred people – or more; more is always better -  in front of ICE or DHS or DOJ, or the FBI, or HHS, or Congress who got together without prior permission and have to be forcible removed would be a good start.

 

I’m not talking about violence. Law enforcement comes to clear the area, sit down. Go limp. Do not allow yourself to be escorted out; make them carry you. Whatever might get on the evening news or go viral to inspire the people outside the Beltway to take action of their own.

 

Such an approach worked during the Vietnam War, and what we’re facing here is a far more existential threat to this country than that war was. Yes, people are going to go to jail. Some will be gassed. Some may be beaten or worse. We all have to decide for ourselves what democracy is worth.

 

I’ve made my decision. Now I just need someone to point me, and not in the direction of more of the same.