James Corum is a sober, thoughtful voice in the ongoing debate about peace and war, and how each should be waged.
OS enjoys reading his thoughts, and hopes his readers will take a few moments to ponder them as well.
This time, he discusses the massive WikiLeaks scandal, abetted by the Yew Nork Times.
He asks the cogent question:
Take a hypothetical situation. In 1943 some British and American military intelligence personnel decided that the public had a right to know how the war was really going. They gave the documents to the New York Times and Guardian, who published them in accordance with “the public’s right to know”. Along with the routine reports, the media published thousands of pages of low level intelligence documents including documents that mentioned army staff meetings. The media blacked out the names of the sources and some details – but a clever enemy could quickly figure out which meetings had been compromised and who had likely compromised them. They would also have likely figured out which information had come from signals intercepts – and would then quickly change their procedures and codes to shut off intelligence to the Allies. As a result of the compromise, many Allied soldiers would likely die.
What would be the response of the British and US governments to such a leak of classified information?
And, more to the point, he poses a sharper question at the end
[W]hy were soldiers lives considered valuable in 1943 and not even considered at all by the political and media elites in 2010? The answer is that the liberal elites who think leaking documents is worthy of praise appear to have no regard at all for the lives of the soldiers they send to war, if such lives get in the way of their momentary ego gratification. Our elites are making it very clear that their moment of fame, of self-righteous glory, and their moral posturing far outweigh the lives of our soldiers.
It's a question that goes to the heart of our culture, and needs to be addressed head-on.
Now, by contrast, OS is on a business trip in Northern Kentucky this week. The local paper is covering the funeral of a local young man killed in service of his country. Ambushed in Afghanistan, leaving behind a widow and three children. The accounts are, well, heartbreaking.
Carroll County and neighboring county residents are encouraged to attend a community memorial service on Friday, July 30, to “honor the life of Staff Sgt. Chris Stout.” The announcement was made on Monday, July 26, by Carroll County Judge-Executive Harold “Shorty” Tomlinson.
Stout was among three soldiers killed on July 13 when their unit came under attack by insurgents in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Stout was assigned to 1st Batallion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C. He served much of his career as a rigger with the 782nd Main Support Battalion and other quartermaster units on Fort Bragg. It was during this time that he sang with the 82nd All American Army chorus. Stout reclassed to become a chaplain’s assistant in September 2006.
“This is a service not only for the people of our Carroll County community,” Tomlinson said, “but for neighboring communities as well. We need to make sure our younger generation realizes that there is a real cost for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Plans were still incomplete at press time regarding who would be the speakers and other active participants in the service, Tomlinson said.
Stout grew up in the Worthville community and attended Carroll and Owen county schools. He resided in Fayetteville, N.C., with his wife Misty and daughters Audreanna and Kristen. His oldest daughter Jacqueline resides in Bedford, Ky. Stout is the first chaplain’s assistant killed in action since 1970 during the Vietnam War.
It is maddening to see the disconnect between the outpouring of sympathy for this fine young man, and the cynicism of the elites whose reckless behaviour leads to these tragedies. Not just the loss of a soldier's life, but the lives forever altered by his death. It matters not a whit to the soulless editors seeking that next Pulitzer by climbing over the corpses they create.
If we are going to set this culture back on track, we must begin to speak with clarity, repeatedly and loudly, that this sort of travesty is not acceptable.
Condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Stout.
May an incurable pox afflict the editorial staff of the New York Times.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
In Remembrance Of J.S. Bach: July 28, 1750
Pastor Peters, a fabulous Lutheran pastor and writer in Clarksville, Tennessee, shares words of wisdom about our culture, especially the culture of the American church in our day.
Soli Deo Gloria... It was not a slogan for Bach. It was his lifeblood. If we would honor Bach and glory in the fact that such musical genius, rich spiritual life, and dedication to his craft were formed in a Lutheran piety steeped in Word, Sacrament, and worthy music... then let us work to make sure that we are working to implement these in our parish life today... Whether the music comes from the 17th or 18th centuries or the 21st century, it needs to be our best, it needs to speak the Word and serve as musical handmaid to that Word, and it needs to glorify God and not entertain the human heart... or our remembrance of Bach will be like the uncovering of a footnote in history instead of a light that shines throughout the generations....
The entire article linked above is well worth the time invested.
OS concurs wholeheartedly. The music of Bach is a gift of divine grace to our weary world. Here's hoping OS's readership will take a moment to listen to a bit of Bach's music, and give thanks.
Soli Deo Gloria... It was not a slogan for Bach. It was his lifeblood. If we would honor Bach and glory in the fact that such musical genius, rich spiritual life, and dedication to his craft were formed in a Lutheran piety steeped in Word, Sacrament, and worthy music... then let us work to make sure that we are working to implement these in our parish life today... Whether the music comes from the 17th or 18th centuries or the 21st century, it needs to be our best, it needs to speak the Word and serve as musical handmaid to that Word, and it needs to glorify God and not entertain the human heart... or our remembrance of Bach will be like the uncovering of a footnote in history instead of a light that shines throughout the generations....
The entire article linked above is well worth the time invested.
OS concurs wholeheartedly. The music of Bach is a gift of divine grace to our weary world. Here's hoping OS's readership will take a moment to listen to a bit of Bach's music, and give thanks.
KLM...How Not To Run An Airline
OS's dear friend, referenced a couple of days ago, finally arrived in the US. The ordeal began Saturday morning, and still hasn't ended.
She arrived in one city, her bags arrived in another...at least she's safe and in one piece.
It isn't that KLM does major things badly, it's just that they do all those thousand-and-one inane small things that allow Murphy to ride along with every passenger, and make every journey a crap-shoot.
There's a solution to this problem...but it would involve firing lots and lots of people.
OS won't be holding his breath.
She arrived in one city, her bags arrived in another...at least she's safe and in one piece.
It isn't that KLM does major things badly, it's just that they do all those thousand-and-one inane small things that allow Murphy to ride along with every passenger, and make every journey a crap-shoot.
There's a solution to this problem...but it would involve firing lots and lots of people.
OS won't be holding his breath.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Sound Of Desperate Back-Pedaling: The Nashville Tennesseean, Front Page Saturday 7/24
The tone has begun to change, perhaps, at The Nashville Tennessean. The most loyal Democrat paper ever published, they've never seen a idea to expand government or spend more tax dollars they don't just love. All the ills of the world exist because Republicans are allowed to exist. AlGore cut his teeth there (how did that happen? Maybe his daddy made a couple of phone calls?), and is their patron saint.
They've stuck to the Party Line, even as their circulation shrinks, and their readership lets them know how unhappy they are. Ni modo, ya'll. We're the Tennessean, we know better!
Last month, it was this:
It's all them tax breaks--that's why the gubbermint is in trouble. We needs us more taxes! That'll fix our problems!
The back-pedaling may be finally beginning, as reality is setting in.
Now, this:
Only OS found this on the front page of the paper on Saturday. It's an AP story, not generated locally. But the editors exercised the choice to put it on the front page, and to leave that little nugget in the fourth paragraph--that little 'should he seek re-election' zinger. This from the folks who breathlessly covered every word and detail of The One's historic salvation of our poor nation, etc. etc.
WASHINGTON — New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.
That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.
The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, now averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates.
The Office of Management and Budget report has ominous news for President Barack Obama should he seek re-election in 2012: a still-high unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. That would be well above normal, which is closer to a rate of 5.5 percent to 6 percent. Private economists don't think the unemployment rate will drop to that level until well into this decade.
Hello, there!
"The U.S. economy still faces strong headwinds," the OMB report says. They include tight credit markets, a high inventory of unsold housing and retrenchment by state governments bound by balanced-budget mandates. The European debt crisis has also had an impact.
"Despite these headwinds, the administration expects economic growth and job creation to continue for the rest of 2010 and to rise in 2011 and beyond," the report says.
The report lands squarely in the middle of a raging election-year Washington debate about spending and taxes. With millions of Americans still unemployed and with tax cuts enacted during George W. Bush's presidency expiring at the end of this year, Republicans and Democrats are fighting intensely over how to create jobs while saving money.
Both parties are certain to seize upon the new numbers. Republicans have
consistently bashed Democrats for what they call out-of-control spending on things like Obama's stimulus package and the health-care overhaul. Democrats counter that the health-care bill and other initiatives will actually slash the deficit over time and create jobs.
Although the gaping deficits are of increasing concern to voters, Obama and Democrats controlling Congress are mostly taking a pass on deficit reduction this year as they await possible recommendations from his deficit commission.
While there's a slight improvement in the deficit for the current year compared with the administration's February forecast, next year's predicted $1.42 trillion worth of red ink — 37 cents of borrowing for every dollar spent — is looking worse. It's about $150 billion more than previously predicted because of still-slumping tax revenues.
The current record holder is the $1.41 trillion deficit for 2009.
Economists agree that the most important measure of the deficit is against the size of the economy. Many say a deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product is sustainable since it would stabilize the overall debt when measured relative to the economy.
The report puts the deficit at 10 percent of GDP this year and 9.2 percent of GDP next year. It would never reach the 3 percent figure under Obama's predictions — which underestimate war costs and depend on assumptions of tax hikes that may not materialize.
OMB Director Peter Orszag said the numbers represent a "fiscal situation that requires attention."
Well, yes. Even behind those hallowed desks on Broadway in Nashville, where reality hasn't paid a visit in a long, long, time.
They've stuck to the Party Line, even as their circulation shrinks, and their readership lets them know how unhappy they are. Ni modo, ya'll. We're the Tennessean, we know better!
Last month, it was this:
It's all them tax breaks--that's why the gubbermint is in trouble. We needs us more taxes! That'll fix our problems!
The back-pedaling may be finally beginning, as reality is setting in.
Now, this:
Only OS found this on the front page of the paper on Saturday. It's an AP story, not generated locally. But the editors exercised the choice to put it on the front page, and to leave that little nugget in the fourth paragraph--that little 'should he seek re-election' zinger. This from the folks who breathlessly covered every word and detail of The One's historic salvation of our poor nation, etc. etc.
WASHINGTON — New estimates from the White House on Friday predict the budget deficit will reach a record $1.47 trillion this year. The government is borrowing 41 cents of every dollar it spends.
That's actually a little better than the administration predicted in February.
The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery. The unemployment rate, now averaging 9.5 percent, would average 9 percent next year under the new estimates.
The Office of Management and Budget report has ominous news for President Barack Obama should he seek re-election in 2012: a still-high unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. That would be well above normal, which is closer to a rate of 5.5 percent to 6 percent. Private economists don't think the unemployment rate will drop to that level until well into this decade.
Hello, there!
"The U.S. economy still faces strong headwinds," the OMB report says. They include tight credit markets, a high inventory of unsold housing and retrenchment by state governments bound by balanced-budget mandates. The European debt crisis has also had an impact.
"Despite these headwinds, the administration expects economic growth and job creation to continue for the rest of 2010 and to rise in 2011 and beyond," the report says.
The report lands squarely in the middle of a raging election-year Washington debate about spending and taxes. With millions of Americans still unemployed and with tax cuts enacted during George W. Bush's presidency expiring at the end of this year, Republicans and Democrats are fighting intensely over how to create jobs while saving money.
Both parties are certain to seize upon the new numbers. Republicans have
consistently bashed Democrats for what they call out-of-control spending on things like Obama's stimulus package and the health-care overhaul. Democrats counter that the health-care bill and other initiatives will actually slash the deficit over time and create jobs.
Although the gaping deficits are of increasing concern to voters, Obama and Democrats controlling Congress are mostly taking a pass on deficit reduction this year as they await possible recommendations from his deficit commission.
While there's a slight improvement in the deficit for the current year compared with the administration's February forecast, next year's predicted $1.42 trillion worth of red ink — 37 cents of borrowing for every dollar spent — is looking worse. It's about $150 billion more than previously predicted because of still-slumping tax revenues.
The current record holder is the $1.41 trillion deficit for 2009.
Economists agree that the most important measure of the deficit is against the size of the economy. Many say a deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product is sustainable since it would stabilize the overall debt when measured relative to the economy.
The report puts the deficit at 10 percent of GDP this year and 9.2 percent of GDP next year. It would never reach the 3 percent figure under Obama's predictions — which underestimate war costs and depend on assumptions of tax hikes that may not materialize.
OMB Director Peter Orszag said the numbers represent a "fiscal situation that requires attention."
Well, yes. Even behind those hallowed desks on Broadway in Nashville, where reality hasn't paid a visit in a long, long, time.
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