On this #MemorialDay, Nemesis stalks a US Empire at war
In 2019, former President Jimmy Carter noted in the yrs since it was born, the US has been at war all but 16 of them. As Carter noted, that makes the US “the most warlike nation in the history of the world.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/05/27/on-this-memorial-day-nemesis-stalks-a-u-s-empire-at-war/
On May 25, 2026 #MemorialDay protesters line danced across #MemorialBridge to the site of Trump’s proposed “victory” arch that looks like something Albert Speer (Nazi architect) would put up.
Trump’s proposed arch would block some of the views of #ArlingtonCemetary while glorifying a bone-spur addled chickenhawk that considers war to be just fine so long as all the fighting is done by someone else.
RE: https://mastodon.social/@tusk81/116642140127819269
"If a service member is good enough to fight and die for this country, they should be good enough to live in this country,” as Repatriate Our Patriots president Danitza James recently told @austinkocher: https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/if-a-service-member-is-good-enough #MemorialDay
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a day for reflection. The day honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Observed every year on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day in a nod to the tradition of placing flowers or other decorative displays at gravesites.
Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War, in which 620,000 soldiers died. The high death toll due in part to the fact that the total includes the fallen from both sides. Approximately 360,000 Union soldiers and 260,000 Confederate soldiers. All Americans.
What we now call Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971. Today, we remember our fallen from all our wars.
Post-Civil War Military Death Tolls
War or ConflictYears of U.S. InvolvementTotal U.S. Military DeathsWorld War II1941–1945405,399World War I1917–1918116,516Vietnam War1965–197358,220Korean War1950–195336,574Global War on Terror (Iraq & Afghanistan)2001–2021~7,073Spanish-American War18982,446Persian Gulf War1990–1991383It is common on this day to visit cemeteries and memorials, such as the Arlington National Cemetery, to place American flags and wreaths on the graves of the fallen. At 3:00 p.m. local time, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a minute of silence to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Many communities host local parades and commemorative ceremonies to honor their local fallen heroes.
It is also common for the civilian leaders of our government to pay tribute by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solder. Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Pete Hegseth performed those duties at Arlington on this day. Trump paid special tribute in a formal address at Arlington to the thirteen soldiers killed, so far, in our current war in Iran.
The United States has a long tradition requiring the military to answer to the civilian leadership. The Constitution makes the president Commander-In-Chief but at the same time assigns to Congress the power to declare war. Congress hasn’t done that since June 4, 1942, when it declared war against Axis-aligned Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania during World War II. Prior to that, Congress declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, followed by Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941.
Yet at least in my lifetime, we almost always seem to be at war. Since World War II, the United States has engaged in major conflicts—such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the post-9/11 wars—without formal declarations of war. Instead, military actions have been conducted under Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) passed by Congress. Or via unilateral executive action. Congress did pass a so-called War Powers Act which is supposed to give the legislative branch the ability to stop a president’s unilateral military actions. But historically, Congress has been unwilling or unable to invoke it. And presidents, including the current administration, argue the Act is UnConstitutional.
The Framers feared concentrating the decision to go to war in the hands of a single person. James Madison noted that the executive branch was “most interested in war, and most prone to it,” which is why they entrusted the power to the legislature. The original draft of the Constitution gave Congress the power to make war. The Framers specifically changed this to declare war, with Madison recording that this substitution empowered the president only to repel “sudden attacks” on the country.
Presidents have gone well beyond that “original intent.”
Something to reflect on.
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#history #memorialDay #military #news #politics #Trump #Vance
One 2019 study from the Migration Policy Institute found that between 2001 and 2013, almost 300 foreign-born US soldiers died in service of their adoptive country:
https://americasvoicecnn.substack.com/p/immigrant-service-members-made-the #MemorialDay
Borowitz Report For The Win
“In what has become a Memorial Day tradition for him, on Monday Donald J. Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Podiatrist.
Trump made his annual pilgrimage to pay homage to the heroic doctors who issued bogus diagnoses to ensure that their privileged patients never answered the call of duty….”
https://www.borowitzreport.com/p/trump-honors-those-who-helped-others-3ef
By Nonda Trimis:
On this Memorial Day I am contemplating the devastation of war and the veterans and families which it has affected. These are excerpts from two letters written by Charles Benedict, my Great grandfather. In the 1st he is excited by his participation in the war & trying to get his cousin to join up. 6 months later he is in a hospital being treated for "shell shock"...
Here are the letters in their entirety:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=nonda.trimis&set=a.10168295596607715
Gina Intheburg 🇺🇦 🌻 🥥🌴
Richard R Lee
Peter Riley
Killer Rabbit 90
Gabe Ortíz
Scott Gurvey's Public Offerings
Saucy Sake
Led By Gilded Fools
armadillosoft