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Yeah that title should be in my best Marilyn Monroe voice….

Happy 234th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!  Happy Birthday to all Marines, active or otherwise.  Stay safe in whatever you\’re doing and enjoy another year of the corps.

When one thinks of old historically important texts that is making a comeback to the best-seller list, there are many I would think of, but this was certainly not one of them.

\”Mein Kampf,\” Adolf Hitler\’s autobiography, is flying off the shelves at Indian book stores as business students look to Germany\’s former dictator for inspiration, the Telegraph reported.

Indian students see the book as a self-improvement and management strategy guide, sources told the British newspaper.

Now I\’ve read the book.  In fact, I even own a copy.  Picked it up one summer in college to get a glimpse into the mind of what most consider the modern face of evil.  Reading through it was an exercise in trying to play amateur psychologist to figure out how you go from struggling artist to mass-murdering crazy man.  It was an interesting, if not especially entertaining read.  If not for the historical importance of the author, I\’d have stopped reading it very early on and thrown it in the trash.

Still I have to admit I\’ve incredibly confused by this development.  I sort of see a self-improvement angle you could take from it, but none of it is especially profound, and when you look at the end product, probably not something to emulate either.  And as far as the management strategy, I\’m utterly at a loss.  His successes were certainly not due to any superior management skills, and even if they were they are certainly not described within the pages of this book.

So I\’m inclined to at least entertain the notion that :

Some experts say the book\’s popularity stems from political reasons, and has little to do with management.

\”While it could be the case that management students are buying the book, my feeling is that it has more likely influenced some of the fascist organizations operating in India and nearby,\” Dr. J Kuruvachira, a professor of Philosophy at Salesian College in Nagaland told the Telegraph.

But on the other hand the sheer volume of sales suggests this isn\’t a fringe extremist movement.  I\’m a little curious just what they are teaching in Indian business schools that a text like this is found to be relevant.

Today is Lincoln\’s birthday, a man to which we are doubly indebted.  Both as a great President who helped hold this country together, but also as the founder of the modern Republican Party.

In honor of this day, I present a modern version of what is his most well-known speech, as delivered by the man that like to compare himself to Lincoln (aka The Messiah).

The Obamasburg Address
Washington DC
February 12, 2009

Three weeks and two days ago our community organizers and voter fraud operatives brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Socialism, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created to be subservient to their government.

Now we are engaged in a great class war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a
portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave up their individual liberty that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The gullible voters, living and dead, who were bamboozled here, have consecrated it, far above the diminished power of the people to detract. The media will little note, nor long remember what we are actually doing here, nor will it ever admit what they did here. It is for us the powerful centralized government, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so fraudulently advanced. It is rather for us, the ones we have been waiting for, to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these uneducated, unskilled masses we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these useful idiots shall not have voted, however many times, in vain — that this nation, under Me, shall have a new birth of Hopenchange™ — and that government of the lobbyists, by the politically-connected, for the career politicians, shall not perish from the earth.”

[H/T Sharon]

Sometime I have to wonder if Reid just assumes nobody actually listens to him, because he sure takes every opportunity to prove himself clueless.

In a conversation on Meet The Press on January 4th, Reid futiley tried to explain away his declaration last year that the surge was a failure.  Apparently his tactic is that he was only referring to a very small part of the plan otherwise known as \”The Surge\” and it\’s our fault for not divining what he meant.  Besides, the war itself is the failure…or so says Reid…

SEN. REID: David, listen, someone else will have to determine that as the years go on.  What has the war done?  It\’s brought about–it\’s destabilized the Middle East.  We have a civil war going on in Israel.  We have a civil war in Iraq, as indicated today, more than 50 people killed with a bomb in Iraq today.  We have Lebanon, a civil war there.  We have Iran thumbing their nose with every, everyone.  And if that weren\’t bad enough, our standing in the world community is so far down as a result of this war, so–and that doesn\’t take into consideration the tens of thousands who have been injured…

Huh, that\’s quite a list of supposed effects of the Iraq War…surely they stand up to the barest of historical fact-checking right??

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
The Middle East hasn\’t been stable since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, or at the very least shortly after World War II. Coincidentally around that same time Muhammad Jed was shooting at some food, and up through the ground came a bubbling crude. Well the next thing you know, ol\’ Jed is living in a farking hell hole.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
There has been constant conflict in and around Israel since literally the day after it was created in 1948, starting with the Arab-Israeli War. Ever since that day, Israel has been the unofficial proving grounds for terrorists to test their weapons and tactics. Apparently, on Sundays the first 200 suicide bombers get an extra virgin in heaven.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Ok the Iraq civil war has started since the Iraq War, but that surge you repeatedly claim has failed has gone a long way in making that civil war less violent than your average day in Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, LA, or New York.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Lebanon has been in a state of virtual conflict since the Lebanese Civil War, which began in 1975. The conflict was rather complex, but was fought mostly over which type of tree would be displayed on the flag. General Cedar eventually led his forces to victory in 1990.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Iran…well you may remember this tiny thing called the Islamic Revolution in 1978 during which some Americans decided to vacation there. The Iranians have been thumbing their nose at the world ever since….apparently the Americans stole some towels or something.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Our world standing has been down since….well the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Seems we were never really liked, it\’s just that after World War I and World War II, the world had learned that the only country worth a damn at doing anything was the Americans and therefore they\’d just follow us around for awhile. When the Soviet Union fell and Europeans stopped ritualistically crapping their drawers, the world decided those warmongering Americans were no good.

Iraq War begun on March 20th, 2003.
Well, not including the Iran-Iraq war, anywhere from 300,000 to 1 million Iraqis were killed in Saddam\’s reign of terror starting in 1979. Saddam\’s reign of terror mysteriously stopped shortly after March 20th, 2003, for reasons unknown to Senator Reid and other Democrats.

Ok so I owe an apology to Senator Reid, he\’s clearly got his grasp of the facts well in hand. Now if only we knew what realities he lives in, we\’d know where those \”facts\” apply.

When reading the quotes below, Joe Biden is the qualified half of the Democrat\’s ticket. In talking with Katie Couric, Joe Biden had this to say on the President\’s response:

“When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, ‘look, here’s what happened.’”

Huh….granted my parents weren\’t even alive during that time and I did learn history in the public school system, but here\’s the dates are I remember them.

August 2nd, 1923 – President Coolidge takes office, following the death of President Harding
March 4th, 1929 – President Hoover takes office
October 24th, 1929 – Black Thursday
October 29th, 1929 – Black Tuesday
1930 – First mass produced television introduce (although not widely available until late 1930s, and not popular until after WWII)
March 4th 1933 – President Roosevelt takes office

Given that timeline, it seems rather unlikely that ANY president appeared on television when the stock market crash, much less President Roosevelt. Especially since at the time Franklin Roosevelt was too busy being Governor Roosevelt….and even then, wouldn\’t have appeared on TV.

Given his rather consistent inability to not embarass himself whenver speak, I don\’t think it\’s stretch to predict that Vice President Biden will never go on ANY medium talking about ANYTHING. Especially since at the time he\’ll probably be too busy being \”that crazy guy that ran for Vice-President once but now just molests collies\”.

Actually maybe I should go easy on the guy. He apparently has enough of a problem remember what his own running mate thinks, much less historical events. And that\’s in addition to when he\’s criticizing his own campaign\’s ads.

Towards the end of the primary battle between Obama and Hillary, people started wondering just who Bill Clinton was campaigning for since his repeated blunders were hurting Hillary more than helping. Biden apparently feels it necessary to out-Bill Bill, as he has quickly become one of the greatest advocates for McCain.

Only time we ever hear about Biden anymore is when he\’s screwing up and hurting Obama. It\’s a wonder that Obama even lets him off his leash anymore, much less out of the house.

In addition, President Bush has also declared September 19th, National POW/MIA Recognition Day:

On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we honor the brave and patriotic Americans who were held as prisoners of war, and we remember those who are still missing in action. For their valor and selfless devotion to protect the country they love, our Nation owes them a debt we can never fully repay. On this day we underscore our commitment and pledge to those who are still missing in action and to their families that we will not rest until we have achieved the fullest possible accounting for every member of our Armed Forces missing in the line of duty.

To observe this important day, the National League of Families POW/MIA flag is flown over the Capitol, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and other locations across our country. The flag is a solemn reminder of our Nation\’s enduring obligation and promise to our courageous service members who remain missing and a tribute to those who have been imprisoned while serving their country in conflicts around the world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 19, 2008, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. I call upon the people of the United States to join me in honoring and remembering all former American prisoners of war and those missing in action for their valiant service to our Nation. I also call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Observe as appropriate

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the end of Prohibition!!

So raise a pint or twelve in celebration of the end of one of the most ridiculous attempts at social engineering!

Few are familiar with the tragedy of the USS Liberty, and even fewer remember it. But recently declassified documents from the incident over 40 years ago, are starting to shed new light on what happened that day. And unfortunately even more questions are raised as many key pieces of evidence are \”missing\”, others have been \”censored\” or \”cleansed\”. However, even what has been released, and the many eyewitness accounts that collaborate it, indicate that what happened that day was not a simple accident.

And what\’s more, it appears fairly clear that not only did our government know that it wasn\’t an accident, but that Israel knew we knew it wasn\’t an accident. And even given all that, our government still brushed aside inquiries and sought to actively cover up what can only called an act of war by Israel on the Unites States.

I\’m not advocating new action or that the US should seek diminished relations with Israel. It was 40 years ago, both our governments have completely new leadership, and our military cooperation has evolved since then. We are in an entirely different environment, and incidents since have shown that the culture has changed.

Regardless, the lack of accountability at all levels demonstrated here is frankly shocking. There has always been controversy over the incident and lots of unanswered questions. However, released documents show attempts to cover up the incident to the highest levels of government on both sides. And the idea that our government would ever abandon our fighting men is pretty appalling and very disheartening.

Rather than brush the incident aside, as many sought to do back then, I suggest reading through all of it (I admit there is alot) and refreshing yourself. Instead of forgetting the incident, use it as a reminder of what our country should never do ever again.

I\’m a WWII buff…love reading about it and learning about it, especially the events of the Pacific Theatre.  I have been ever since I was young and someone gave me a book called Guadalcanal, written by a combat correspondent who tailed with the Marines as they stormed the beach of that dreadful island and then fought a battle of attrition in the jungles around what became Henderson Field.

But despite that battle and numerous others that have captured more fame in history books, the one that always fascinated me the one whose anniversary is today (June 4th) and tomorrow (June 5th).  Ultimately, the battle became known as the Battle of Midway, although it truly began at the Battle of Coral Sea on May 7th to May 8th.

It\’s hard to say what captured my fascination most.

Was it the fact that somehow an inexperienced, poorly-equiped and vastly outnumbered American force managed to not only beat a vastly superior Japanese force, but thoroughly thrashed them so badly that they never again regained the offensive.

Or was it the amazing series of luck and turns of fortune that culminated into allowed our forces to do what they did?? Not that they had everything go their way of course, the tragedy of VT-8 will attest to that.  But so many things had to happen in order for the circumstances to happen as they did.  If their story were a fictional novel, no doubt any editor would reject the plot for sheer unbelievability of the circumstances.

Or was it the individual stories of sacrifices and heroism that while common throughout the war, frequently went unrecorded.

Or was it that despite the fact that our boys were inexperienced, using aged (and dangerous) equipment and were vastly outnumbered, due to the strength of their character and their sheer force of will, they turned many of those weaknesses into strengths and accomplished more than what any honest person could expect.

Probably a combination of all of them.

So on this anniversary of that battle, it was with no small delight to see that RedState had done a post recalling many of the events of that day.  It\’s a great read, and it\’s a pretty good start into learning what transpired that day.  As their post indicates the movie that that battle inspired is barely accurate, but I would encourage you all to read one of the many books and journals about those fateful days when the tide turned in the Pacific.

Oh sure the invention of the wheel was nice and all, but today is the anniversary of a much better invention….canned beer.

Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production.

By the late 19th century, cans were instrumental in the mass distribution of foodstuffs, but it wasn't until 1909 that the American Can Company made its first attempt to can beer. This was unsuccessful, and the American Can Company would have to wait for the end of Prohibition in the United States before it tried again. Finally in 1933, after two years of research, American Can developed a can that was pressurized and had a special coating to prevent the fizzy beer from chemically reacting with the tin.

The concept of canned beer proved to be a hard sell, but Krueger's overcame its initial reservations and became the first brewer to sell canned beer in the United States. The response was overwhelming. Within three months, over 80 percent of distributors were
handling Krueger's canned beer, and Krueger's was eating into the market share of the "big three" national brewers–Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz. Competitors soon followed suit, and by the end of 1935, over 200 million cans had been produced and sold.

The purchase of cans, unlike bottles, did not require the consumer to pay a deposit. Cans were also easier to stack, more durable and took less time to chill. As a result, their popularity continued to grow throughout the 1930s, and then exploded during World
War II, when U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans of beer to soldiers overseas. After the war, national brewing companies began to take advantage of the mass distribution that cans made possible, and were able to consolidate their power over the once-dominant local breweries, which could not control costs and operations as efficiently as their national counterparts.

Today, canned beer accounts for approximately half of the $20 billion U.S. beer industry. Not all of this
comes from the big national brewers: Recently, there has been renewed interest in canning from microbrewers and high-end beer-sellers, who are realizing that cans guarantee purity and taste by preventing light damage and oxidation.

Brought to you by the fine folks at the History Channel. 

Oh and it's also the anniversary of the beginning of the Boy Scouts….coincidence?? I think not.  As an avid beer lover and an Eagle Scout myself, I find myself obligated to celebrate both today.  I'm gonna go pitch a tent and then drink canned beer.