VA To Limit Display Of The Dixie Cross In Federal Cemeteries

The Dixie Cross (Confederate Battle Flag) at the graves of Confederate Dead
at Arlington National Cemetery.

Last week marked another unfortunate and somewhat minor victory for white supremacist idealism, cultural Marxism, and anti-Confederate heritage regressive bigotry.

Perhaps everyone will recall that back in May of this year, a bill was proposed and sponsored by California Representative Jared Huffman (D - San Rafael) and 84 other regressive and reactionary members of the US House of Representatives to limit the public display of the Confederate battle flag in cemeteries overseen by the US Department of Veteran Affairs. 

The purpose behind this bill was to favor the regressive and wrong-thinking, pro-white supremacist view of the flag and ultimately remove it from public viewing from flagpoles where Confederate veterans are buried in Federal cemeteries. Another effort on the part of Social "Just-Us" Warrior cultural reactionaries in their war against the memories of the honored Southern dead, and largely to discredit their status as American veterans worthy of recognition.  

While Huffman’s amendment to a VA spending bill passed on a bipartisan vote, a majority of House Republicans voted against the measure. A total of 84 Republicans voted with all but one Democrat in favor of Huffman's proposal, while 158 opposed it. The provision was ultimately left out of the final bicameral compromise VA appropriations legislation.

The bill died on June 24th of this year after congressional opponents struck it down. I spoke on this point when I updated a blog post back in May of this year. I pointed out that when the SJW regressives fail to win though the legal process, they circumvent it though backroom deals with like-minded Tools. Hate and reaction it seems always finds away, and unfortunately, fails to disappoint when one looks for it to happen. 

On Tuesday, August 23rd, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, allegedly on its own accord, decided to ban the large-scale display of the Dixie Cross banner in cemeteries overseen by the agency - in keeping with the specific details from the failed House bill. 

"We are aware of the concerns of those who wish to see Confederate flags removed from public venues because they are perceived by many (wrongly!) as a symbol of racial intolerance. We are also aware that the national cemeteries originated during the Civil War and that they are the final resting places of those who served (honorably) on both sides of that conflict and, as such, flags of the Confederacy are also viewed by some merely as historical symbols," the VA's interim undersecretary for memorial affairs, Ronald Walters, wrote in a letter to Representative Huffman. He also referred to the new policy enacted unilaterally as a "reasonable compromise" on the subject of the flag's display.

"While racist individuals and groups continue to embrace the Confederate battle flag, (over the strong objection of honorable Confederate heritage groups and a vast majority of Southerners of good will and moral conscience) it has never been more clear that this anachronistic symbol of hatred, slavery, and insurrection should not be promoted or gratuitously displayed on federal property," the regressive Mr. Huffman said in a statement on Tuesday. 

 

Starting later this year - possibly US Veteran's Day (Nov. 11th) - the ban on the flag's display will take effect. The Confederate battle flag will no longer be allowed to fly on any flagpole in national cemeteries. However, groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy will still be permitted to adorn individual graves with small Confederate banners on two days of the year: US Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day (although considering that the latter is celebrated on different days in various Southern States, the display of these flag could in fact come to more than just two days). The flag will also continue to be displayed at certain ceremonies and at private burials taking place at national cemeteries.

On a local level, smaller versions of the flag or items bearing its image on individual graves will not be removed so long as there is no cost to the government, or banned by local staff unless they conflict with other local rules on permitted displays - which of course means if someone doesn't like it there it will be removed by whatever delicate little snowflake works at the cemetery in question and to hell with the wishes of the families of the dead. 

Previous policy permitted for year-long display at VA controlled cemeteries where Confederate soldiers and veterans are buried in mass graves. 

This act, while certainly rooted in anti-Confederate heritage reactionary bigotry and regressive, pro-white supremacist idealism posing as "tolerance and compassion" on the part of the SJW crowd, is not a complete victory for those who seek the complete banishment of the flag's display from public view. 

On an interesting note, officially there have been no Confederate flags of any sort flying on VA cemetery poles since 1973. 

Wait what?

Yep, it seems that all the current ado about the display of the flag on VA cemetery poles appears to be nothing more than window dressing to justify the limiting of displays of smaller flags on individual graves, and to give a group of regressive politicians some good press for their special interest handlers....er, I mean concerned activist groups. 

No doubt it is seen as a step in that direction by the authors of the former legislation and those who cut the backroom deals that led to the policy taking effect despite the inability to achieve legal success. Also likely as the first step toward the ultimate overall banning of the display of any banner or temporary memorial in national cemeteries. 

Consider that at present in America, there are instances where the display of the US flag is being removed from public viewing by like-minded snowflakes who justify these acts as progressive, or out of "respect" for people who see the displays of the national colors as offensive in one form or another. 

Is it really too much of a stretch to believe that someday - should the current PC cultural trends endure for another decade - the flagpoles in VA run cemeteries will be removed entirely? Or that all stick flags adorning the graves of US Veterans placed their by the families of the dead will be removed siting some "beautification ordinance" as a justification? Or that "interpretive plaques" will be placed at the site of gravestones shaped as Christian crosses or the Star of David to explain their presence to those who may be "offended" by their display?

When one slips down the wet cobblestone path of cultural Marxism, the roll down the hill of regression is a long and bumpy tumble - but one that picks up speed all too quickly. Should the supporters of legislation like this continue to gain ground, the final solution of this particular path will be a dishonorable one indeed. 

I would also add that the US Department of Veteran Affairs would be better served by looking after the needs of those US Veterans and soldiers currently living - specifically those who are (sometimes literally) dying to get into the VA clinics for treatment in those all-too long waiting lines. 

Perhaps instead of taking deals from regressive politicians who seek to dishonor the dead, those currently in charge of the VA should work harder to advocate and insure that our American soldiers and veterans are treated with the dignity and respect they very much deserve, but all to often do not receive.

Just a little food for thought, along with a little good ole Southern Fried Common Sense.

RIP Gene Wilder (1933 - 2016)

RIP Jerome Silberman aka Gene Wilder
(June 11, 1933 - August 29, 2016)

Far too many times it seems like this month has been a time where this blogger has had the unhappy duty to say goodbye to celebrities that have, in some form or another, touched my life profoundly. 

It is with a heavy heart that it was reported on social media that actor Gene Wilder - perhaps one of my all-time favorite comedy actors, and certainly one of the greats in that field - passed away on Monday the 29th of this month due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 83 years old. 

Born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Wilder began studying to become an actor at age 13, and had his first performance onstage at age 15.

He took the professional name Gene Wilder after graduating from the University of Iowa and starting his decades-long acting career beginning with stage productions and his first film role in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

In 1971, Wilder's film career took off with his portrayal of the eccentric candymaker Willy Wonka in the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) - a film based on the excellent book by Roald Dahl, which did not gross very well at the time of the film's release (Dahl himself disowned the final product and didn't care for Wilder's preformance), but grew in popularity over the next decade with repeating broadcasting on television. 

Wilder is perhaps best remembered for his role as the eccentric
Willy Wonka from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).

In 1974, Wilder would work with legendary comedy director Mel Brooks in two films that would be among his best remembered comedy roles.  

The first was the satirical Western comedy film Blazing Saddles (1974), where Wilder played a recovering alcoholic gunslinger named Jim (aka The Waco Kid) as a sidekick character to actor Cleavon Little portrayed as the town's unpopular black sheriff Bart. In the film, the duo would work together to gain the acceptance of the townspeople and stop badguys from destroying the town. 

Wilder alongside actor Cleavon Little in Mel Brooks'
Western comedy film Blazing Saddles (1974).

Later the same year, Wilder starred as another eccentric comedy character in Brooks' horror comedy film Young Frankenstein (1974) where he plays a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus - later shortened to just Frankenstein.    

In Young Frankenstein, Wilder played alongside actress Teri Garr as Inga his lab assistant and actor Marty Feldman as Igor (pronounced "eye-gor" in the film). Wilder and Feldman would both team up again a year later in the musical comedy film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) in Wilder's directorial debut.

Wilder as Victor Frankenstein in Mel Brooks' Young Frankentein (1974)
with Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, and Cloris Leachman.

A year later Wilder would team up with legendary comedy actor Richard Pryor in the comedy thriller film Silver Streak (1976). The two actors would play a duo in two other comedy films: Stir Crazy (1980) where they played a pair of wrongly accused men sent to prison, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) where Wilder played a deaf man to Pryor's blind man who both work together to thwart murderous thieves. 

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor worked together
on three films between 1976 - 1989.

Wilder was married four times. His third wife was actress Gilda Radner, with whom he starred in three films. Her 1989 death from ovarian cancer led to his active involvement in promoting cancer awareness and treatment, helping found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founding Gilda's Club.

Rest in peace Jerome Silberman, aka Gene Wilder. 

Thank you for all the memories, sir. You will not be forgotten.

RIP Jack Riley (1935 - 2016)

RIP John Albert "Jack" Riley Jr.
December 30, 1935 - August 19, 2006.
Thank you for the memories.

Actor John Albert "Jack" Riley Jr. passed away earlier today at his home in Los Angeles, California, USA reportedly from pneumonia and infection. He was 80 years old and retired after a successful career that spanned decades in various forms of media - including notably voice acting for animated shows. 

Jack Riley's roots in television were firmly within comedy, as he came from a radio background where he had his own comically-inclined show. He moved west where he partnered with legendary funnyman Tim Conway on The Tim Conway Show which got his foot in the door with appearances on comedy shows like Occasional Wife, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and Hogan's Heroes  before landing the biggest break in 1972 with his live-action career: The Bob Newhart Show. 

On the show Riley played Elliot Carlin, one of the many patients that Bob Newhart's psychiatrist saw on a daily basis. Mr. Carlin was as condescendingly neurotic as one gets, with a sense of humor that geared towards the cynical side, making him one of the show's stronger personalities. The character was so popular that Riley would go on to reprise the role on both the TV series Alf and St. Elsewhere.

Other roles credited to Riley include characters on M*A*S*H, Barney Miller, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, One Day at a Time, Gomer Pyle, Diff'rent Strokes and Night Court. He was also a favorite of Mel Brooks, appearing in several of his films: High Anxiety, History of the World: Part I, To Be or Not to Be, and (cameo only) Spaceballs. He also appeared on episodes of Seinfeld, Son of the Beach, Friends, Coach, The Drew Carey Show, That '70s Show and, in a gag appearance, as an unnamed but obvious Mr. Carlin in an episode of Newhart.

Stu Pickles, father of Tommy Pickles from Rugrats.

As a voice actor Riley is best remembered from 1991 - 2005 for voicing the character Stu Pickles in the Nickelodeon animated series Rugrats, the sometimes bumbling toy inventor and father of the series main character, Tommy. The franchise consisted of the TV series, the spin-off All Grown Up! and the Rugrats film trilogy.

Mr. Riley had also served in the United States Army and is survived by his spouse, Ginger Lawrence-Riley and their two children.

Thank you for the memories Mr. Riley.

RIP Kenny Baker (1934 - 2016)

English actor Mr. Kenny Baker, the stunt actor for R2-D2
in both the original and prequel films of the Star Wars franchise. RIP.

 

British-born actor Kenneth "Kenny" George Baker, best known for his role as R2-D2 in six of the Star Wars films and Fidgit in the 1981 cult classic Time Bandits passed away at his home in Preston, England, UK. 

Baker was born in Birmingham, England, UK on August 24, 1934 and died on August 13, 2016. He was 81 years old. Over his career, which spanned five decades, Mr. Baker, who stood at 3 feet 8 inches tall, played various dwarf-like characters in such notable films as: The Elephant Man (1980), Willow (1988), Labyrinth (1986), and Flash Gordon (1980).

One of this blogger's favorite childhood films was the original Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (not the &*%$#! 1997 remastered version, the original!) and probably one of my favorite characters was the droid R2-D2. 

Since the films are among my favorites, I own copies of them on DVD along with the making of documentaries such as Empire of Dreams: The Making of the Star Wars Trilogy, which featured the actors behind the scenes. I especially loved hearing Mr. Baker talk about how he preformed his role as the droid and working with his counterpart, C-3PO played by English-born actor, Mr. Anthony Daniels.

Kenny Baker as R2-D2 with Anthony Daniels as C-3PO on the set of the original Star Wars film at Elstree Studios near London, England, UK in 1976.

Mr. Baker died in his home after a long illness on Saturday, August 13th of this year, many decades after doctors told him he would not live long past puberty. He is survived by his two children. He was an amazing man who overcame much in his life and had a great career to be proud of. 

The world will be a much poorer place without him in it, but God has a new angel in Heaven.

RIP Mr. Kenny Baker. Thank You For The Memories!

Night Sky Photography - 08-12-2016 - The Waxing Gibbous Moon & Planetary Triangle!

This evening I was able to get a shot of the waxing gibbous moon (Luna) with the planets Saturn and Mars with the bright star Antares completing the trinity in an amazing triangle. 

I took the photo in a field near my house. Unfortunately I was unable to get a good background shot of any trees for scale. 

I'm going to return later after midnight to try and get at least one good shot of the Perseid Meteor Shower, though I don't hold out any real hope with the crappy camera I have. Still you never know till you try.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE! 08-13-2016

As expected I was unable to get any good shots of the meteor shower. Sorry folks! I swear I am going to get a faster camera at some point.