veterans Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

November rambling: America’s Greatness

Second Cousin or Once Removed?

America’s Greatness: A Guest Commentary

The Vibecession and the AI bubble

America’s got a Jenga economy

Citizens United and the Decline of US Democracy: Assessing the Decision’s Impact 15 Years Later

A Vast Camera System Now Feeds Police Information on Drivers Across the US. They have been called invasive, insecure, and unconstitutional.

Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

America is sliding toward illiteracy

Veterans Charities to Avoid

Panel discussion at Hampshire College’s 55th anniversary celebration: “Urgent and Unbounded: The Role of Liberal Arts Education in an Age of Rising Authoritarianism,” featuring filmmaker and historian Ken Burns, 71F, AI expert and author Gary Marcus, 86F, and Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, P08, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities.

The Wonderful Public Domain of Oz

Boss preppers: What does a captain of industry have to offer after the sh*t hits the fan?

Short of Medicare for All, Bernie Sanders Offers Democrats 6 Other Ways to Tackle Healthcare Crisis

Disney has lost Roger Rabbit.

Terrible Maps and a very tall garden shed

How a humble weed became a superstar of biology

What’s a capitonym? It is a prime example of the power of capitalization: a single letter can transform a regular noun, such as “turkey,” into a proper noun with a different meaning — “Turkey.”

Building a Book Lamp – actually, building a lamp made out of books

The Chinese Ban on “Fried Rice” and The Lake That Killed Its Neighbors, and At Least He Was Right About the Cake Thing? and Does This Expensive Coffee Taste Like Poop?

Relations

Because I was asked: Second Cousin or Once Removed? Untangling the Family Tree. The Kennedy example: Caroline, JFK’s daughter, and RFK Jr, RFK’s son, are first cousins.

Caroline’s son, Jack Schlossberg (who’s running for Congress in NYC), is RFK Jr.’s first cousin once removed. “If someone is your cousin ‘once removed,’ that means they’re one generation above or below you. For example, your mother’s cousin is your first cousin once removed.” Jack’s sister, Tatiana Schlossberg, also RFK Jr.’s first cousin once removed, announced she has a rare terminal cancer. She noted: “Throughout my treatment, he had been on the national stage… mostly as an embarrassment to me and the rest of my immediate family.”

Metamucilini and company

Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: He Faces Realities of Aging in Office

In Courting Saudi Arabia, He Emulates MBS’s Authoritarianism

RFK, Jr. Violates Agreement On CDC Vaccine Guidance, Putting Millions At Risk

The FDA Commissioner Is Missing the Point of Advisory Committees — Makary’s hand-picked panels lack diversity of opinion, robust evidence reviews, and credibility

Swastikas and Nooses Are No Longer Hate Symbols Under New Coast Guard Rules

Soldiers Must Disobey Unlawful Orders — It’s Their Legal Duty

List of Degrees Not Classed As ‘Professional’ by Regime

Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns: Read her statement in full. I’m oddly annoyed that he chooses to misspell her last name as Green.

MUSIC

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff dies, aged 81. The Harder They Come; Many Rivers To Cross

Robert Plant: Tiny Desk Concert, Nov 21, 2025

J. Eric Smith’s Genre Delve: British Folk Rock and Metal vs Hard Rock

Coverville 1558: The Neil Young Cover Story IV

MTG Has Broken Cover – Marsh Family parody of “Billie Jean” by MJ about Marjorie Taylor Greene

Tomorrow Never Knows – The Beatles

The Beatles Songbook – Christine Pedi

Heaven -James McCartney

Vltava (The Moldau) by Bedrich Smetana

Spill The Wine – Eric Burdon & War

Waterways by Ludovico Einaudi

Not One Of Us – Peter Gabriel

The Hunt for Red October suite by Basil Poledouris

Bach Fugue -The Newfangled Four | GWC 50th Anniversary Show

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – Born Free

White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane

Long May You Run – The Stills-Young Band

Time Of The Season– The Zombies

My Fair Lady overture

Take Me or Leave Me – Idina Menzel · Tracie Thoms from RENT OST

Table for Two, Away from the Band, Please – Road Work Ahead

Organist John Jasper McClellan (1874-1925) performs the Overture from Tännhauser (1845) by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). It’s one of the oldest acoustic (church) pipe organ recordings ever made, from late August and early September 1910 in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. Given the label print from the disc, this must have been a later production run of this record.

We Built This City – Starship

Blame It on the Record Label

Black wheelchair-bound veteran shot

GoFundMe

This week, I saw on Steve Bissette’s Facebook feed a story about a Black wheelchair-bound veteran shot in broad daylight on Seattle, WA’s waterfront on July 31. Harold Powell, Sr., was shot in the chest in front of dozens of witnesses. Gregory Timm, 32, is a white man who accused Powell, a 14-year Navy vet, of “stolen valour” and demanded the veteran “show his ID” to prove his veteran status. (The Sun City song, Let Me See Your I.D., about apartheid South Africa, immediately came to mind.)

Powell is recovering, and his family has started a GoFundMe campaign. It notes: “His injuries are serious, and the cost of emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, and long-term recovery is overwhelming.”

It would be easy to dismiss this as an act of one knucklehead. But my brain goes back to history.

The first thing to pop up was the Red Summer of 1919. Black people, especially the black veterans who were proud to wear the uniform when they got back to the States, were targeted for assault and murder. Going back to the Revolutionary War, Black people in the US were eager to prove themselves ‘worthy” of full citizenship by going to battle.

Other black veterans have been killed, not in battle, but in the fight for democracy and human rights.

Ignorance is NOT bliss.

So, I’ve been distressed by the federal so-called DEI cuts, which are based on the theory that the institutions targeted are too “woke.” Under the microscope, per Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, is the Smithsonian, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The museums are now to “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” Just this week, FOTUS groused, “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”

I should note that I was a charter member of the African American History and Culture Museum and contributed monetarily to it before it was even built, though I did not get there until August 2024, when I spent two days there. The FOTUS assessment is incorrect. There is plenty about success and joy, but he misses the facility’s point. History should be an honest, warts-and-all portrayal.

As a librarian, I was upset by the firing of Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. The rationale was BS. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.” Except that the Library of Congress is a research library, and books are used only on the premises by members of the public. Anyone age 16 and older may use the collections. She was fired for being a black woman, just as General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was canned for being a black guy.

Add to this the attacks on universities, media outlets, etc., not to mention the seemingly random and cruel ICE raids, and I become increasingly distressed. Let’s not Make America More Stupid Again (MEMSA).

Veterans for New Americans

Starting with Lafayette

After Colin Powell died, I was reminded that there have long been people who have been immigrants and/or non-citizens who have joined the US military. I found a link titled Veterans for New Americans with a Non-Citizens in the U.S. Military Fact Sheet.

“To join the U.S. military, non-citizens must be living permanently and legally in the United States. Non-citizens must also have permission to work in the United States, possess an I-551 (Permanent Residence Card), have obtained a high school diploma, and speak English…

“Between 1999 and 2010, approximately 80,000 non-citizens joined the U.S. military force. Most recent data from the Department of Defense (DOD) showed that 24,000 noncitizens were on active duty in 2012, with 5,000 legal permanent residents (LPRs) enlisting into the U.S. military force each year…

“From FY2001-FY2015, USCIS naturalized 109,321 noncitizen service members. Since 2008, USCIS has also naturalized 2,650 military spouses.”

A 2019 article looked at the 2017 American Community Survey. 697,711 foreign-born veterans lived in the United States, comprising 3.5 percent of all veterans; 190,198 foreign-born individuals were actively serving in the military comprising 4.5 percent of all active-duty service members.

The US Foreign Legion, as it were

An August 2021 Washington Post article reads: “The U.S. government hasn’t protected noncitizen veterans from deportation. That may change.” And “The U.S. military has a long history of relying on foreign recruits.”

But from DHS and the VA comes the announcement of an “Initiative to Support Noncitizen Service Members, Veterans, and Immediate Family Members.”

WaPo: “Noncitizens have played critical roles in every war that the United States has fought. Decades after the Marquis de Lafayette served as an aide to General George Washington during the American Revolution, tens of thousands of Canadians and Europeans joined the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War. And hundreds of thousands of Black soldiers fought in the Civil War, their service all the more remarkable given that the U.S. government denied them citizenship.”

Over time, I’ve noted that a number of black Americans have used serving in the military as a way to “prove” their “worthiness” as Real Americans. This has been true from the Revolutionary War through at least through World War II. Perhaps Powell, as a black from Jamaica, consciously or not, may have used his service in Vietnam in the same matter.

“As modern militaries increasingly field sophisticated weapons systems, countries have also looked to noncitizens to bring much-needed technical skills into the ranks, as well as expertise in foreign languages and cultures in areas where the military operates.

This reminds me of, for instance, the Afghan translators who often risked their very lives working with the US military. I wish them every opportunity to come to this country and have the good chance to become citizens.

General Colin Powell (1937-2021)

octogenarian with multiple myeloma

The first substantial story about the death of Colin Powell that I saw appeared in Common Dreams. “Colin Powell, Who Helped George W. Bush Lie Nation Into Iraq War, Dead at 84.”

Further: “It’s crucial to remember just how important Colin Powell was to selling the Iraq War, and how deliberately he used his public credibility to boost the lies that pushed us into the war. That is his biggest legacy.”

Certainly, as someone who was vigorously active in opposing the Iraq war for months before it began in 2003, I recognize the outsized role his United Nations presentation played in “legitimizing” the 2003 invasion. They never did find those weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein was supposed to have had.

Still, I’m uncomfortable defining most people over their biggest mistake. It is especially so when Powell acknowledged and regretted the speech repeatedly, calling it the biggest blunder in his career.

From Daily Kos: “Born in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican parents, Powell was a retired four-star general who served in multiple administrations. He was an icon of the Republican Party, serving as the youngest and first Black national security adviser under former President Ronald Reagan and first Black national security adviser and as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush.”

“In 2008, during then-candidate Barack Obama’s presidential run, Powell stood up to decry those who falsely called Obama a Muslim in order to discredit him… In his later years and during former President Donald Trump’s presidency, Powell began to move away from the party he had affiliated himself with for so long.”

Vaccine disinformation

It is true that Powell died of complications from COVID-19, though he was fully vaccinated. But it’s also accurate that the octogenarian was being treated for multiple myeloma, cancer that forms in certain white blood cells.

So when John Roberts, Fox News‘ co-anchor of “America Reports,” tweeted news of Powell’s death to promote vaccine disinformation, he was rightly blasted.

“According to… Roberts, Secretary Powell’s [breakthrough] death ‘raises new concerns about how effective vaccines are long-term,’ which is both manipulative and false, given the facts surrounding his health – namely that he was 84 and battling cancer that impacts the body’s ability to fight infections… Roughly 7,100 such deaths have been reported in the US, with 85% occurring in patients 65 and older.

“Vaccine disinformation is ‘a big reason behind low inoculation rates,’ the L.A. Times recently reported… Fox News aired claims that undermine COVID-19 vaccines on 99% of days in the last six months, according to research by progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America. Only two days from April through September didn’t feature the sowing of doubt about the safe and effective shots.”

Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans

861 – Surgical Technician

Henry Flipper battled prejudice in the military

In the legitimate complaints about veterans coming home and not getting their due, I have come across a particularly ugly reminder from the Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: Targeting Black Veterans

“The end of the Civil War marked a new era of racial terror and violence directed at black people in the United States that has not been adequately acknowledged or addressed in this country… The violent response to freedom for former slaves was followed by decades of racial terror lynchings and targeted violence designed to sustain white supremacy and racial hierarchy.”

The more than 40,000 black soldiers who died in the Civil War fought to protect a Union that rejected them in the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott ruling of 1857.

“No one was more at risk of experiencing violence and targeted racial terror than black veterans who had proven their valor and courage as soldiers during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Because of their military service, black veterans were seen as a particular threat to Jim Crow and racial subordination. Thousands of black veterans were assaulted, threatened, abused, or lynched following military service…”

The great equalizer?

“Military service sparked dreams of racial equality for generations of African Americans. But most black veterans were not welcomed home and honored for their service. Instead, during the lynching era, many black veterans were targeted for mistreatment, violence, and murder because of their race and status as veterans. Indeed, black veterans risked violence simply by wearing their uniforms on American soil.”

Particularly egregious was the Red Summer of 1919, right after WWI. “In Pittsburgh for example, the Ku Klux Klan made their goal of using violence clear with notices that read: ‘The war is over, negroes. Stay in your place. If you don’t, we’ll put you there.'”

Dear old dad

I’ve written before about my father’s complicated feelings about the military, I suspect due in part to his knowledge of history. In the European theater at the close of World War II, he was “861 – Surgical Technician”

“Performs various duties to assist medical officers in rendering surgical treatment. Prepares operating room and surgical equipment for use; assists operating personnel; administers hypodermic injections as instructed; cleans operating room and sterilizes equipment; assists in transporting patients from wards to operating room; sterilizes linens and instruments; performs duties during operation that cannot be done by operating personnel; gives first aid treatment; instructs others in simple surgical duties. Should be at least a high school graduate.”

This seems to have been applicable to him: How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans, “The sweeping bill promised prosperity to veterans. So why didn’t black Americans benefit?”

Our current sin

We Deport Veterans: “For decades, we’ve deported military veterans—legal residents of the United States—while dangling citizenship before them. Congressional Hispanic Caucus estimates there are about 3,000 instances of veterans being deported to other countries.

“We also know that tens of thousands of immigrants serve in the U.S. military. According to Department of Defense statistics, about 70,000 non-citizen people born outside of the United States were serving in the military between 1999 and 2008.

“According to a 2017 report from the National Immigration Forum, about 40,000 immigrants currently serve in the armed forces and about 5,000 non-citizens enlist each year. Furthermore, as of 2016, about 511,000 veterans were foreign-born. And more than 20 percent of Medal of Honor recipients are immigrants to the United States.

“Those immigrants who can enlist in the U.S. military are often promised fast-tracked access to a green card. In reality, however, most of these vets neither apply for nor attain citizenship. Many of these enlisted immigrants will tell you they were promised citizenship by recruiters or that their paperwork has at least been initiated. Many even believe they attained citizenship simply by enlisting and swearing to defend the United States.

“So why doesn’t the U.S. military ensure that immigrants are presented with accurate facts on the possibility of their path to citizenship? Where’s the support system developed to ensure they complete each step when it’s available to them?”