Battle of the Bilge

Just more of the same, an old story with a new villain…

BotB Verdict

Summary

In a continuation of a pattern of emails designed to denigrate the president and make it appear that he is catering to the Muslim world, a viral email has emerged that leaves out a great deal of information about the history of the USPS stamp honoring the holiday of Eid. Beyond the fact that this email attacks the Commander in Chief, it has nothing to do with the military. But it has become a high volume inquiry in our email center so it is worth providing the information the original authors chose to ignore. Let’s start with the email.

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“America now has a moral imperative to remain the same: a land of personal freedom, a place of diversity and a dream for millions of a bright future.” – Sulaiman Al-Hattlan, Saudi journalist and political analyst

Eight Years, A New World

Exactly eight years ago, Muslim terrorists delivered a destructive and epoch changing attack on the United States. As we honor our fallen citizens of that day, and our fallen warriors that have given their lives to help ensure an attack like 9/11 will never happen again, let us also reflect on the fight still to come. In this long war against radical Islamic elements, there are no grand battlefield maneuvers or great victories to encourage us back home. There are only small engagements, targeted air assaults and long term rebuilding and modernization programs. While the casualties get the headlines, few take the time to report on the successes on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a world suddenly faced with a new paradigm in which challengers to the established order of things are making power moves and manipulations, we should never forget what caused it all and why.
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This week, soon to be ex-governor of Alaska Sarah Palin posted a quote on her twitter page that she incorrectly attributed to Plato:

Palin is not the first to misapply the quote to the great philosopher and it has been attributed to Plato in works like Training for Dummies, but the origin of the saying is probably from a gentleman’s guide published in 1670.  Her misquote got me thinking about quotes in general, and as you can tell by previous articles I’m a fan of famous sayings.  So I compiled a list of quotes that are related to military or politics that have been altered, misapplied, or just plain made up.  Here are some of the best…

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‘We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately’ – attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but he probably didn’t say it, regarding the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Myths and Traditions Regarding the 4th

Today we celebrate the birth of a grand experiment, a republic built upon the ideals of democracy and freedom. As monumental to world history as the Declaration of Independence became, there are a few myths that surround the 4th of July, although they are fairly insignificant and don’t take away from the power of the holiday.

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Please Note: The commentary in this article is not meant to imply an endorsement of MRFF by MOAA.

‘To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men’ – Abraham Lincoln

On the Trail of an Email Personality

Of all the emails we receive on a daily basis, there is no more prolific subject than religion. While MOAA’s efforts to improve the quality of life for every member of the military, we do not get involved on the topic of faith. The Battle of the Bilge will only run email or web page analysis on religious topics when there is a direct military link, such as the bible burning incident in Afghanistan or the restrictions on speaking in uniform at faith based events. But for every topic that does involve the military, we receive dozens that do not. One of the most frequent names that appear in email forwards, in both scorn and praise, is Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Battle of the Bilge tracked down Mikey, as he asked to be called, and had a long night time chat about the foundation, the troubles facing the military and his mission, which has turned his life upside down.
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