1. Wow, he came out angry and swinging. Swinging somewhat at the ghost of Bush, which is swinging at the wind, but also against the Congress. He did swing a few times at the Republicans, but just as likely to blame the whole body. Jonathan Karl called it controversial and confrontational, so that the Republicans left quickly.
2. Not surprised by the love of Gabby Giffords. He almost seemed lost in the hug at the beginning. He was ready to pull back, she wasn't. The place cleared out quickly when he was leaving. Lot's of folks vacated quickly, and not as many stayed for fist bumps and hugs.
3. He brought his military with his wife. Traditionally, it is an enlisted person. This year, it was an Army Sergeant, but I couldn't tell her unit and MOS. She was decorated, though, and has been overseas for at least a year. Interesting that he didn't introduce her. Full bird Colonel behind Michelle. Also, staying on the military, the Joint Chiefs all showed up, but Odierno was so big, that they had to push the other three to the back row. Guys huge. . .
4. Walking in, you see the big wigs in the parties. Eric Cantor, Majority leader in the House, followed by his Whip, Kevin McCarthy. Mitch McConnell didn't seem to be in the line to walk in, but Harry Reid was.
5. The Supreme Court brought the moderate and liberal wing. The die hard conservatives boycotted, except for the Chief Justice. Sotomayor was the only liberal not to show.
6. People arrived for seats at 815 AM. That is a long wait. They had to be in seats they wanted at 530 pm, and could reserve them.
7. The young woman that was issued as a key to the relationship between companies and colleges was an interesting choice. Her hairstyle was lacking and she had heavy tattoos on her neck visible to the camera. The lip piercing added to this. It struck me because she wasn't necessarily a classical camera ready image. You have to admit, the administration did not ask her to change for the camera.
8. The president asked the states to raise the graduation age to 18 or graduation. That is huge, but is only a request. He has no power to do much in this way.
9. The joke about spilled milk was more of a classic Obama. It should have gotten more laughs, but I think his speech was enough of a challenge and harbringer of the age. Why can't -- timing -- Obama tell a joke?
10. There were several times when the audience attempted to clap and he talked over them, and in one case, he silenced the applause to continue his talk. He took control of the audience rather than seeking the easy accolades.
11. Rigid ideologies vs. common sense. Hard to fight that. Streamline the bureaucracy, how do you fight that? The Republicans will have a hard time spinning that against Obama.
12. The issue of Iran and the use of the military: The military got 100% support of the crowd. McCraven, the Navy Seal, behind Michelle Obama, is the head of Special Operations. He is the guy in charge of the operation that took out Osama. He was on the top five list for Time's Person of the Year. Interesting background.
13. Obama mentioned his former opponents, including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a Bush carryover. Geithner was another carryover. Hillary seemed to be the cabinet member that Obama spent the most time with after the speech. Sebelius wasn't even done with him when he walked past.
14. Ok, what happened to John Kerry's face.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A small dissection of the Marine Corps urination scandal
I was in no big hurry to follow up on this story, but I felt that I must deal with it at some point. This post is not to pass judgement but to look at a few issues.
1. In the article, Fox News uses the word desecration in parentheses ("desecrating" the bodies). From a sociological perspective, if these were American dead, and anyone was urinating on them, would we hesitate to call it a desecration?
2. Bad things happen in war. Morals are not instilled in war time. They are very often shed. These men should be judged by a jury of peers, not the media or the public. Unfortunately, their actions will be viewed by many, and it is not our mainstream media that will be the problem. We can not filter what others find on the internet (where this video posted), and how it is used against us. My fear is for future U.S. military personnel in the wake of this incident. There are numerous examples of group actions that are not reflective of mainstream cultural norms in American history. This is not a new phenomenon, but as the author of the essay points out, "It shows how, in the present era of instant communication and YouTube, a tactical judgment blunder by a small number of troops can become a big strategic problem in a matter of a few hours." An isolated incident is no longer an isolated incident.
3. The concept of the other plays perfectly here. It would have been much more difficult to have done this to someone that resemble the Marines. Because of the differences in language, diet and smell, culture, and appearance, this behavior was more acceptable. The Japanese skull on the desk of the young girl writing her boyfriend in the Pacific. . .
4. The justification is that these men had suffered losses at the hands of an enemy that did not fight fairly. The same logic is used to defend the American soldiers at My Lai, under Lt. Calley. Ultimately, if we seek to do terrible things, we will find a way to justify them, also.
5. God be with the soldiers and their families, especially. Their careers are probably over. And, God be with our enemies. Some day we will all understand this war and find some type of peace.
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