Sunday Funnies

No reason to go to Sunday School tomorrow

If you have to, you can skip Wednesday Bible Study. Who gives you this pass? Well Senator Byrd of course.

RadioBlogger has what is required reading; or listening. Senator Byrd speaks on The Book of Esther. Interesting points he brings up.

There are lots of Jews in the Old Testement.

All of those said in the Bible to be virgins may not be virgins.

Senator Byrd is a member of the King James Only movement.

Somehow, for some reason, The Book of Esther is a metaphor for judicial nominations in the U.S. Senate.

Not to confuse Sodom with Homon; Republicans want to Sodomize … not sorry, …. “Homonize” the Senate.

Go figure.

Hat tip Powerline.

Neighborhood memorials

I have past by this monument countless times. As of late, it started to bother me more and more. What is it?

Being that this is an older neighborhood, and the eagle is hard to miss, I realized that this had to be a monument of some kind.

We have all been to the grand monuments. The large monuments. The understated monuments. The sublime monuments. The controversial monuments. The insulting monuments.

What could be more personal than a neighborhood monument that simply states, "These were our neighbors that fought and died for us."

(you can see the high res here)

How common are these little neighborhood monuments? I did a quick search for these names on the Internet. Inside a day I found out that in 1935, Robert L. Settle was an Eagle Scout, but that was about it.

I found out more about Sadron C. Lampert Jr. through has close relatives in the area that I managed to find. In a quick email exchange I found out some detail that, when you think about it, every name on every monument has. When you look at these men, struck down in the prime of life, you have to think about the lost potential. For you economists out there, the opportunity costs for a society of those lost in conflict is huge. Earn it we should. With his permission, the grandson of Sadron C. Lampert sent a quick background.

While I obviously never had the honor of meeting him, his father (Sadron Sr.) was alive until I was about nine. Sadron Jr. was killed when my father was just one or two.

He skipped two grades in high school and went to Yale, where he played football and graduated PhiBetaKappa. He went to work for a firm in New York, where he met my grandmother (boss's daughter, if I'm not mistaken).

Sadron Jr. was drafted into the Army in late 1943. He served as a communications officer in Europe. He, like all the Sadrons, had pretty poor eyesight and was constantly breaking his glasses. This may have contributed to the circumstances of his passing. He died in September, 1944 near Empoli, Italy. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

By going to the outstanding National Archival Research Catalog, I found out that Robert W. Jones was a 2nd LT in either the Army or Army Air Corps when he was KIA. Charles H. Ware and Carl T. Wood; in the digital age they are hidden.

The irony is, the Winona Garden Club no longer exists, but as you can tell, someone in the neighborhood is keeping the monument up. Somewhere, on microfiche I'm sure, is the story. The questions are still there though; did they know each other before they left overseas? Did their families know each other? Did the families stay after their death? Did they serve together?

I've been to the WWII monument in D.C. and this little neighborhood monument had much more of an affect on me. Perhaps it is the personal nature of it, or the depth that Sadron Lampert, Jr.'s grandson provided. Next time I see something like this hidden in a corner, I'm going to walk over and see. Afterall, that is what they were put there for. The former members of the Winona Garden Club succeded. Decades later, people are still giving tribute to their neighbors.

Well-said, madam Secretary

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice … said Wednesday the constitutional right of Americans to own guns is as important as their rights to free speech and religion. … Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves. … Rice said the Founding Fathers understood ''there might be circumstances that people like my father experienced in Birmingham, Ala., when, in fact, the police weren't going to protect you.''

The former residents of Germany, China, Poland, Cuba, Rwanda, Darfur region of Sudan, Tibet, and the Jews of Europe to name just a few would agree with you.

6 minutes and 14 seconds in Fallujah

More great video from Iraq. Once again, thanks to one of your standard "great Americans", 1Lt Prakash (why hasn't this guy made O3 yet? Come on Army....geeezzzeee.). He has a great video. Better and longer than 4 minutes and 13 seconds in Fallujah and along the same lines. This is what the Soldiers want you to see; specifically A Co. 2/63. They include in this some captured jihadi video of an attack on a U.S. convoy. BZ on the sound track. Not all of this is Fallujah, but most is. And if you haven't seen 20 minutes in Fallujah you will want to see this BBC clip as well.

Hat tip Blackfive.

Michael Yon – The Interview

For all you Cornerites trickling in late from last week's Photoblog, via Greyhawk and Blackfive we have an interview with Michael Yon. Must see. Here is the video. BTW, the little girl's name was Farah.

USS San Francisco grounding – FINAL SITREP

After my last post on the subject in FEB, I have been quiet about the USS San Francisco grounding and aftermath. The major reason is that Bubblehead and Eagle1 are just doing and outstanding job at it. I cannot disagree significantly with or add more to what they have posted.

If these two guys are not on your regular read list, they should be. Now, if they would only get the XML feed running….