https://thingsamicthinksabout.wordpress.com/

Snip -

All around the wall, of course, are the things that make it different. Little things left by visitors in memory of one of the 58,307 people who go with the 58,307 names. And, those things, whatever they may be, have a way of making real what looks unreal, all those names on all those panels. I have no idea which name went with the pieces of paper that caught my attention thanks to that wind.There was no identification on the letter and too many names on the panel to even attempt to figure it out. It could have been written for anyone. In more ways than one.

The letter was written by the sister of one of the men who went with one of those names. He’d remain ever nameless to me, of course, but, to her, he remained, after all those years, a gaping absence in her life, as those pages made clear. Because, they told a story.A story of this woman, in bed, being visited by her late brother in a dream. And, in the dream, the sister told him about what had been going on in her life in all the years he’d been absent from it. Things you’d expect a sister to tell a brother after such an absence. How mom and dad were doing. What was happening with various family members and friends. What was happening in their hometown.

She talked about her husband and family, the kids she’d had, his nieces and nephews that, of course, he’d never gotten to meet. And, then they talked about the days before. Memories, things they’d done as kids. Things only a brother and sister could share. Things she now had no one to share with, except in the way she was now sharing it.

Snip -

Peace

https://thingsamicthinksabout.wordpress.com/

-Snip-
All around the wall, of course, are the things that make it different. Little things left by visitors in memory of one of the 58, 307 people who go with the 58, 307 names. And, those things, whatever they may be, have a way of making real what looks unreal, all those names on all those panels. I have no idea which name went with the pieces of paper that caught my attention thanks to that wind.There was no identification on the letter and too many names on the panel to even attempt to figure it out. It could have been written for anyone. In more ways than one.

The letter was written by the sister of one of the men who went with one of those names. He’d remain ever nameless to me, of course, but, to her, he remained, after all those years, a gaping absence in her life, as those pages made clear. Because, they told a story.A story of this woman, in bed, being visited by her late brother in a dream. And, in the dream, the sister told him about what had been going on in her life in all the years he’d been absent from it. Things you’d expect a sister to tell a brother after such an absence. How mom and dad were doing. What was happening with various family members and friends. What was happening in their hometown.

She talked about her husband and family, the kids she’d had, his nieces and nephews that, of course, he’d never gotten to meet. And, then they talked about the days before. Memories, things they’d done as kids. Things only a brother and sister could share. Things she now had no one to share with, except in the way she was now sharing it.

-snip-

Well worth the read. Peace

RIP to a legend, one of the best voices in music and an underrated song writer - I miss you already



Great pianist as well

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That speech to NATO is an embarrassment, it shames this nation - and he has to know better, HAS TO. As in it is his obligation to know how this shit operates.

NATO members don't pay a damn bill. They don't put cash in a pot to pay the US or anyone else.

They agree to supply military capabilities using their own country's resources.

Lithuania agrees that it will maintain X number of fighter jets, Y number of attack helicopters and Z number of soldiers equipped and trained to NATO standards.

Belgium agrees to have X number of heavy transport planes and Y number of coastal patrol vessels etc fucking et cetera.

NATO summits happen on the regular dipshit. Oh yeah, and the USA supplies a contingent of NATO military leaders - shit Sec. of Defense Mattis even explained this in his testimony to the Senate back in March.

“I cannot give you an accounting for past money owed, because that’s not the way we do that in NATO,” Mattis told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee. “We do it through capabilities. That’s the commitment each nation makes."
From The Hill: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/325202-defense-chief-nato-doesnt-track-past-money-owed

Sorry that Fox and Friends didn't mention it. Too bad really, maybe if they had you wouldn't have made such an obvious fool of yourself.

There is no excuse for this ignorant fucking balloon full of cheese sauce and stupidity to say this in public. Let alone in front of a crowd of NATO leadership - Who all know how shit actually works. If you want to re-allocate who supplies what capability -SAY THAT YOU WANT TO RE-ALLOCATE CAPABILITIES. You fucking stupid traitorous chancre on the crotch of America.

At a rate higher than white Americans do. There are many reasons for the disparity - an opportunity for training and tuition assistance, travel, a steady paycheck and often it's a way out of a poor situation.

It's odd that certain Americans that loudly profess their patriotism often down play and dismiss this service. (JK it isn't at all odd or surprising)

And then there are the Alt-Right racists. People who hate - well they hate all of us here in DU, but AA and other POC particularly.

People like Sean Urbanski a member of the Alt-Reich Nation who didn't like it when a black man would not step aside when he was told to by a white man

So the US Army just lost a young brand new Second Lieutenant to extremist violence, killed in an attack - In Maryland.

https://www.armytimes.com/articles/newly-commissioned-lieutenant-stabbed-to-death-in-possible-hate-crime

RIP 2LT Richard Collins III

Fuck American Nazis and their Orange cult leader that has emboldened them

Just in case we forget how incompetent and evil 45 and the Trump party are, at everything, there is this story to remind us.

https://www.axios.com/hurricane-matthew-damage-in-north-carolina-cost-millions-2402968554.html?utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=organic

North Carolina will receive only one percent of the disaster-relief funds it requested from the Trump administration after Hurricane Matthew hit the state in 2016.

How do you like those MAGA hats now North Carolina?

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I apologize if this is a repeat post.

The Long, Lucrative Right-wing Grift Is Blowing Up in the World's Face.

If you want to understand intra-GOP warfare, the decision-making process of our president, the implosion of the Republican healthcare plan, and the rest of the politics of the Trump era, you don’t need to know about Russian espionage tactics, the state of the white working class, or even the beliefs of the “alt-right.” You pretty much just need to be in semi-regular contact with a white, reasonably comfortable, male retiree. We are now ruled by men who think and act very much like that ordinary man you might know, and if you want to know why they believe so many strange and terrible things, you can basically blame the fact that a large and lucrative industry is dedicated to lying to them.

http://fusion.kinja.com/the-long-lucrative-right-wing-grift-is-blowing-up-in-t-1793944216

Despite a couple of bullpen collapses, the Cardinals look pretty damn good.

Right now.

I would not be surprised if they played .600 ball from now on - I wouldn't be surprised if they played .300 ball from now on either.

It's maddening to watch.

They can look so great or so shitty that I can't tell if we have a great team under performing occasionally or a crap team that got hot for a couple weeks.