The Republic of T. Archives

She seems OK with it, but isn’t there something pretty fucked up about sending a 52 year old grandmother to war, when she’s set to retire in ten months with 20 years service?

But he does. Sometimes you can take man out of the war, but taking the war out of the man is another story. When I first saw the picture below, I knew immediately that it would be another icon of the tough guy archetype Americans embrace so enthusiastically. And it did. It even made […]

Not much blogging here. Swimming lessons, playdates, and babysitting gigs make for a busy day. So if you happened by here looking for insights, the best I can do is point you to the best blogging I’ve read today, over at Blue Girl, Red State. 

 He was silent for a moment before he spoke. “I wish […]

A while back I blogged about a sign in Clarendon which, I figured out after walking past it on my way too and from work, was a silent tally of U.S. casualties in Iraq. Some time in the last few months the sign disappeared, and I won’t get to see if it returns as our […]

I know, I know. I said I wouldn’t be blogging much, but I can’t help it. There are some things that make me sicker than food poisoning, and the story I just read is one of them. You’ve heard about Dubya authorizing and justifying spying on Americans, and the news that the feds can and […]

By sending them home as freight. Bereft of body armour in battle, denied dignity in death.
Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag — greeted by a color guard.
But in reality, many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners — stuffed in the belly of a plane […]

News stories like this one are almost enough to stir some remotes sense of pride in being from Georgia. Or at least being gay and from Georgia.

Georgia Equality, which staged a billboard campaign just months ago in parts of Midtown, have launched phase two this week. Though the message remains the same: “We are your […]

To guns and military recruiters, that is. I’ve never been to San Francisco, but for some reason I’ve always wanted to visit, and even thought I’d probably want to live there if I ever visited. Stories like this only convince me more.

Voters approved ballot measures to ban handguns in San Francisco and urge the city’s […]

Hey, does that new Iraqi constitution have a Bill of Rights, and if so, does that include a statement something like this.

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

I’m just asking, […]

As shown by the war porn story, it’s worthwhile to shine a light in some of the less often travelled places in the blogosphere, because things often start there long before they bubble up in to the places where the air is more rarified. Getting these things earlier than the usual suspects is one of […]

Helena Cobban, from whom I picked up the war porn story (before it went big time) has another post up on the story, now that it’s hit the traditional media. There’s one point she makes and I wanted to underscore, and that has bearing on an upcoming post.

But going after the grunts and foot-soldiers is […]

Looks like Associated Press picked up on the story that I blogged a month ago and John of Americablog posted yesterday.

I keep thinking of that question. You know the one. If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Oh well. At least the story’s […]

I’m never quite sure what to think when something I’ve already blogged about turns up on a major blog days, weeks, or even months after I posted it. When it comes to blogs, I guess some things actually trickle up as opposed to trickling down.

For what it’s worth, AMERICAblog now has the story about American […]

Is discrimination bigotry? I ask because of some items that came across my desk this morning, that got me started thinking about what we call bigotry and what we don’t. When it comes to same-sex marriage, for example, there are people who — at least publicly — oppose it, but would take offense at being […]

But no fairness for faggots, in the military anyway. Sorry, I don’t usually use the "f-word," unless I’m truly pissed off. Just when I think I’ve reached my limit of disgust with some of the things our government gets up to, something like this comes along and takes my breath away. Via Fool’s Blog, comes […]