Warrior Ethos

Recent travel to visit with family found us in Mobile Alabama for a week with an opportunity to become temporary Mobilians and soak-up the history, food and ambiance of this coastal city.  A boat ride of the delta estuary provided an opportunity to take-in the waterfront, port facilities and Austal Shipyard up-close and personal; including these vessels in the shipyard for routine scheduled maintenance.

The USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo and ammunition ship of the United States Navy.

USNS Medgar Evers

USNS ships, also known as United States Naval Ships, are owned by the U.S. Navy.  However, they are operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) with civilian crews. While these ships are civilian-manned, some may also have a small military complement for specific functions

Several US Navy vessels have been named after civil rights activists, and some of these names are currently under review for potential renaming. Ships like the USNS Harvey Milk, USNS John Lewis, USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Medgar Evers and USNS Harriet Tubman are among those being considered for name changes. 

The John Lewis-class of oilers are designed to refuel and resupply other Navy ships at sea and are specifically named after prominent civil rights leaders.  The proposed name changes are part of efforts by the Trump Administration to expunge what they believe are prior diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the military.  

USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206) is the second of the John Lewis-class of underway replenishment oilers, operated by the Military Sealift Command.

USNS Harvey Milk

The potential renaming of these ships has sparked controversy; some of these assets have been deployed for five to fifteen years with sailors and members of the public viewing this as a symbolic erasure of the contributions of these individuals to American history and civil rights. 

Moreover, renaming a ship can be fraught. In naval tradition this practice is widely considered bad luck.  This stems from the belief that a ship has an identity and spirit, which renaming can anger or confuse. This superstition is rooted in ancient Greek mythology, where Poseidon, the god of the sea, was thought to keep a record of all ship names in his "Ledger of the Deep". Changing a ship's name was seen as disrespecting the sea gods and risking their wrath and incurring possible misfortune at sea. 

In further back-and-forth developments Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted just this past Wednesday that military veterans and active-duty troops urged the Trump administration to rename American military bases after Confederate traitors who took up arms against the government to defend the enslavement of Black people — a move the secretary claims is “important for morale.”

In his testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee, Hegseth defended the president’s decision to restore the names of several military bases in the South that were first named in honor of Confederate generals, despite Congress mandating their removal five years ago. 

Time will tell where this all ends-up.  Seems the MAGA movement itself has embraced its own version of Political Correctness and Woke.  

Drama, reality television theatrics and a waste of resources.  Jeesus; anybody else been to this rodeo before?

Still waiting for measurable improvement in your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  And maybe make the world a safer place.  Good thing I am a patient sort.....

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Popularly known as DEI.  In the human resources world this includes any policy or initiatives designed to make employees of various backgrounds feel welcome and ensure they have support to perform to the fullest of their abilities in the workplace.  It is also a pejorative in the MAGA universe.

On small battlefields in the Culture War it is social engineering initiatives such as these that are often used to keep the troops in a constant state of turgid arousal and agitation.  For me, not so much.  DEI doesn't set my teeth on edge or make me want to set my hair on fire.  If a business seeks to be successful the path to that end is a happy workplace and workforce.  From a purely political point of view this sort of stuff cuts both ways.  Allow me to explain.

There's been some chatter that Kamala Harris is where she is (she is not yet the official nominee) as a consequence of her being a person of color.   A child of a Jamaican (African) father and Asian (Indian) mother (both university professors) she has brown skin.  Consequently, culture warriors suggest she skipped the line because she has somehow benefited from DEI and thusly her career advances and rise in politics are not meritorious.

Consider this.  JD Vance has a compelling life story.  Scottish-Irish descent, born to a single mother addicted to drugs, raised by a grandmother in an economically disadvantaged community.  A hillbilly.  His life story is impressive; none which would be remarkable if he was raised by an intact middle class household.  If you read his book, or watch the Hollywood movie you would learn that he went to law school on Yale's scholarship program for the economically disadvantaged.  Yup, an elite university's affirmative action program. 

You might also conclude that his meteoric political rise has been a version of political DEI.  Between you and me I happen to believe all veep candidates are chosen for a reason.  That's just how it goes.  Nevertheless, DEI cuts both ways.  And Speaker Johnson has wisely suggested to some of the members of his caucus that they cool their jets on the subject; it's counter-productive.  Moreover, if you think it is a brilliant strategy to suggest that Kamala Harris slept her way to the top you might as well write-off the suburban woman vote and go home.  But I digress.

For the record, I happen to think JD Vance is a smart guy who merited a scholarship.  He is imminently qualified  I also happen to think that Kamala Harris is a smart woman who won three elections:  District Attorney, Attorney General and Senator.  That is meritorious and as a consequence she is imminently qualified.

The last couple of weeks have certainly brightened my political mood.  Biden's exit from the Democratic ticket has sent a disturbance through The Force.  I bought a case of microwave popcorn from the Boy Scouts and have laid-in a stash of Merlot.  Looks like it's gonna be game-on....