Is there a draft deferment in here?
Much is being made of the fact that former Vice President Dick Cheney receive five educational deferments from the Vietnam era draft. Particularly in light of his key role in sending U. S. troops into Iraq in 2003 and his recent return to the public spotlight. He's claiming he and President Dubya didn't make any mistakes.
Just to be fair, it needs to be pointed out that others who voted to send U. S. troops into Iraq in 2003 also received deferments:
Joe Biden - five educational deferments.
John Kerry - four educational deferments (he applied for a fifth and was turned down and only then joined the Navy).
Joseph Lieberman - five educational deferments and another family deferment afterward.
We'll be nice and only mention the four deferments former President Bill Clinton received and not talk about the machinations he engaged in to avoid the draft after finishing his undergrad degree.
Personally, I think Cheney is a egomaniacal megalomaniac who has no conscience whatsoever. He apparently feels no guilt for the thousands of U. S. troops and the hundreds of thousands of others who died during the war in Iraq. But he shouldn't be judged any differently than any other future politician who attempted to dodge the draft by getting an education in the 1960s. It was the thing to do.
The all-volunteer force is better than having to have a draft. Those who want to serve, do so. Those who don't, aren't obligated. Hopefully we will never again need a draft.
* * *
A friend on Facebook posted that she wanted her friends to respond to her message by listing three things we are thankful for. I had to think about that for a bit. Of course the first thing I'm thankful about is the fact I'm still here, after 8 weeks in a coma and a year in a hospital. I'm thankful I get to see my mother regularly and will continue to do so. And I'm thankful for my work, which allows me to help my clients, even if it comes at a price to my energy level on occasion.
But I'm also thankful today that once again I was able to resist temptation. It was especially notable for me because my fatigue level was high at that moment. After work I needed to pick something up for dinner. I just wasn't in the mood to have grilled chicken breast sandwiches for both lunch and dinner. My evil mind wanted to break my streak of not having had McDonald's since leaving the hospital on June 21st and my good mind wanted nothing to do with the idea. Eventually the good mind won out, by reminding the evil mind that once a streak is broken it has to be started again.
So I had a dry Subway sandwich with just tomatoes on it.
A better choice by far.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
It's easy for Marvel to say they won't move "Captain America 3" so it doesn't conflict with "Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice" is being released on the same day. It's almost two years off. Sometime between now and then either Marvel or Warner Brothers will blink and move their big movie to a different opening date.
If there were to be a sequel to "Forest Gump" there should be a scene where Forest gets into a fight at a Tea Party rally, so he can apologize for having to fight at their Tea Party.
The good news was the ball girl at the Red Sox game made a nice play on a hard hit grounder. The bad news was that the ball was still in play until she fielded it. Whoops!
The NBA's New Orleans Pelicans might be the last stop for former BYU star Jimmer Fredette. He's a great shooter, but can't play defense and can't do much else besides shoot long-balls. I hope he makes it.
How can you tell the difference between a big mall in China and a big mall anywhere else? No, not the Chinese signs, it's the pink parking spaces for women only. They are wider than "normal" spaces for some odd reason.
I had no idea until today that Lucy Liu not only played the accordion herself in this scene, but she was already an accordion player before filming began. Bill Murray plays the tuba himself, but he had to learn how before the scene was shot. Impressive!
Buzztime should end the regional split. It's bad for business. Maybe the WWE's "Authority" could talk to them.
The actor who is on the posters for "The Purge: Anarchy" is upset that he didn't get paid for the use of his likeness in the movie's advertising campaign. Well, maybe he shouldn't have worked on the movie as an extra if he was so worried about the appropriation of his likeness.
It is cool that Rory McIlroy's dad made a bundle when Rory won the British Open.
Wonder when producers will stop spending $40 million or more on bad rom-coms that don't do well at the box office?
On the 45th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, I have to wonder, where is Bart Sibrel? I bet Buzz Aldrin would like to punch him again.
Some entertainment news sources are claiming Kendall Jenner wants to quit "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" but that's she obligated by contract to finish the series. Well, unless she signed a new contract after she turned 18 last November, she's no longer bound by any contract her mother signed on her behalf when she was a minor. So quit.
There is a 2,200 square foot mobile home for sale with an asking price of $3.75 million. Of course, it is in Malibu, next to one of the area's most popular beaches. I still wouldn't pay that much for a "mobile" home.
The nimrods who put on the "Billy Cub" unofficial mascot around Wrigley Field should just go away.
Did the VA Administrator from the Phoenix facility who is about to be fired; who made statements indicating he was suicidal, get put on a waiting list?
A vending machine in Baltimore dispenses breastfeeding equipment to mothers who forget to bring their own with them. It is installed at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
* * *
July 20th in History:
70 – Siege of Jerusalem – Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
911 – Rollo lays siege to Chartres.
1189 – Richard I of England officially invested as Duke of Normandy.
1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle – King Edward I of England takes the stronghold using the War Wolf.
1402 – Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara – Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.
1592 – During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were ultimately unable to hold it.
1738 – Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan.
1799 – Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of five reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.
1807 – Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.
1810 – Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek – Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.
1866 – Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa – The Austrian Navy , led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.
1871 – British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
1885 – The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company ships its first car.
1917 – World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.
1922 – The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.
1932 – In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans, part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, who attempt to march to the White House.
1934 – Labor unrest in the U.S.: Police in Minneapolis fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, killing two and wounding sixty-seven.
1934 – 1934 West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, Washington, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
1935 – Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen.
1936 – The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.
1938 – The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York, New York against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.
1940 – Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
1940 – California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
1941 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrenti Beria its chief.
1944 – World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
1949 – Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their nineteen-month war.
1950 – Cold War: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
1954 – Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.
1960 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government.
1960 – The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
1961 – French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Dinh Tuong Province, Cai Be, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children).
1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon later that day (Eastern Time Zone).
1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".
1974 – Turkish occupation of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'etat, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.
1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments.
1982 – Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regents Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.
1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
1989 – Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
1992 – Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (aka Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
1999 – The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
* * *
Famous Folk Born on July 20th:
Alexander the Great
Gregor Mendel
John Reith
Sir Edmund Hillary
Elliot Richardson
Thomas Berger
Mike Ilitch
Chuck Daly
Buddy Knox
Cormac McCarthy
Senator Barbara Mikulski
Diana Rigg
Natalie Wood
Kim Carnes
Larry Craig (sad that he'll be best remembered for his bathroom exploits)
John Lodge
Carlos Santana
Dave Evans
Donna Dixon
Billy Mays
Frank Whaley
Dean Winters
Jimmy Carson
Sandra Oh
Omar Epps
Roberto Orci
Ray Allen
Judy Greer
Gisele Bundchen
Julianne Hough
Just to be fair, it needs to be pointed out that others who voted to send U. S. troops into Iraq in 2003 also received deferments:
Joe Biden - five educational deferments.
John Kerry - four educational deferments (he applied for a fifth and was turned down and only then joined the Navy).
Joseph Lieberman - five educational deferments and another family deferment afterward.
We'll be nice and only mention the four deferments former President Bill Clinton received and not talk about the machinations he engaged in to avoid the draft after finishing his undergrad degree.
Personally, I think Cheney is a egomaniacal megalomaniac who has no conscience whatsoever. He apparently feels no guilt for the thousands of U. S. troops and the hundreds of thousands of others who died during the war in Iraq. But he shouldn't be judged any differently than any other future politician who attempted to dodge the draft by getting an education in the 1960s. It was the thing to do.
The all-volunteer force is better than having to have a draft. Those who want to serve, do so. Those who don't, aren't obligated. Hopefully we will never again need a draft.
* * *
A friend on Facebook posted that she wanted her friends to respond to her message by listing three things we are thankful for. I had to think about that for a bit. Of course the first thing I'm thankful about is the fact I'm still here, after 8 weeks in a coma and a year in a hospital. I'm thankful I get to see my mother regularly and will continue to do so. And I'm thankful for my work, which allows me to help my clients, even if it comes at a price to my energy level on occasion.
But I'm also thankful today that once again I was able to resist temptation. It was especially notable for me because my fatigue level was high at that moment. After work I needed to pick something up for dinner. I just wasn't in the mood to have grilled chicken breast sandwiches for both lunch and dinner. My evil mind wanted to break my streak of not having had McDonald's since leaving the hospital on June 21st and my good mind wanted nothing to do with the idea. Eventually the good mind won out, by reminding the evil mind that once a streak is broken it has to be started again.
So I had a dry Subway sandwich with just tomatoes on it.
A better choice by far.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
It's easy for Marvel to say they won't move "Captain America 3" so it doesn't conflict with "Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice" is being released on the same day. It's almost two years off. Sometime between now and then either Marvel or Warner Brothers will blink and move their big movie to a different opening date.
If there were to be a sequel to "Forest Gump" there should be a scene where Forest gets into a fight at a Tea Party rally, so he can apologize for having to fight at their Tea Party.
The good news was the ball girl at the Red Sox game made a nice play on a hard hit grounder. The bad news was that the ball was still in play until she fielded it. Whoops!
The NBA's New Orleans Pelicans might be the last stop for former BYU star Jimmer Fredette. He's a great shooter, but can't play defense and can't do much else besides shoot long-balls. I hope he makes it.
How can you tell the difference between a big mall in China and a big mall anywhere else? No, not the Chinese signs, it's the pink parking spaces for women only. They are wider than "normal" spaces for some odd reason.
I had no idea until today that Lucy Liu not only played the accordion herself in this scene, but she was already an accordion player before filming began. Bill Murray plays the tuba himself, but he had to learn how before the scene was shot. Impressive!
Buzztime should end the regional split. It's bad for business. Maybe the WWE's "Authority" could talk to them.
The actor who is on the posters for "The Purge: Anarchy" is upset that he didn't get paid for the use of his likeness in the movie's advertising campaign. Well, maybe he shouldn't have worked on the movie as an extra if he was so worried about the appropriation of his likeness.
It is cool that Rory McIlroy's dad made a bundle when Rory won the British Open.
Wonder when producers will stop spending $40 million or more on bad rom-coms that don't do well at the box office?
On the 45th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing, I have to wonder, where is Bart Sibrel? I bet Buzz Aldrin would like to punch him again.
Some entertainment news sources are claiming Kendall Jenner wants to quit "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" but that's she obligated by contract to finish the series. Well, unless she signed a new contract after she turned 18 last November, she's no longer bound by any contract her mother signed on her behalf when she was a minor. So quit.
There is a 2,200 square foot mobile home for sale with an asking price of $3.75 million. Of course, it is in Malibu, next to one of the area's most popular beaches. I still wouldn't pay that much for a "mobile" home.
The nimrods who put on the "Billy Cub" unofficial mascot around Wrigley Field should just go away.
Did the VA Administrator from the Phoenix facility who is about to be fired; who made statements indicating he was suicidal, get put on a waiting list?
A vending machine in Baltimore dispenses breastfeeding equipment to mothers who forget to bring their own with them. It is installed at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
* * *
July 20th in History:
70 – Siege of Jerusalem – Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
911 – Rollo lays siege to Chartres.
1189 – Richard I of England officially invested as Duke of Normandy.
1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle – King Edward I of England takes the stronghold using the War Wolf.
1402 – Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara – Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.
1592 – During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were ultimately unable to hold it.
1738 – Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan.
1799 – Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of five reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.
1807 – Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.
1810 – Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek – Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.
1866 – Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa – The Austrian Navy , led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.
1871 – British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
1885 – The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company ships its first car.
1917 – World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.
1922 – The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.
1932 – In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans, part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, who attempt to march to the White House.
1934 – Labor unrest in the U.S.: Police in Minneapolis fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, killing two and wounding sixty-seven.
1934 – 1934 West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, Washington, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
1935 – Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen.
1936 – The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.
1938 – The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York, New York against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.
1940 – Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
1940 – California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
1941 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrenti Beria its chief.
1944 – World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
1949 – Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their nineteen-month war.
1950 – Cold War: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
1954 – Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.
1960 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government.
1960 – The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
1961 – French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Dinh Tuong Province, Cai Be, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children).
1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon later that day (Eastern Time Zone).
1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".
1974 – Turkish occupation of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'etat, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.
1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments.
1982 – Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regents Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.
1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
1989 – Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
1992 – Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (aka Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
1999 – The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
* * *
Famous Folk Born on July 20th:
Alexander the Great
Gregor Mendel
John Reith
Sir Edmund Hillary
Elliot Richardson
Thomas Berger
Mike Ilitch
Chuck Daly
Buddy Knox
Cormac McCarthy
Senator Barbara Mikulski
Diana Rigg
Natalie Wood
Kim Carnes
Larry Craig (sad that he'll be best remembered for his bathroom exploits)
John Lodge
Carlos Santana
Dave Evans
Donna Dixon
Billy Mays
Frank Whaley
Dean Winters
Jimmy Carson
Sandra Oh
Omar Epps
Roberto Orci
Ray Allen
Judy Greer
Gisele Bundchen
Julianne Hough
posted by me at 4:44 PM
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