“In the sad aftermath that always follows a great war, there is nothing sadder than the surprise of the returned soldiers when they discover that they are regarded generally as public nuisances. And not too honest.” —H.L. Mencken
In 1924, Congress voted a “bonus” for those who had served in World War I. $1 for every day served in the States, $1.25 for every day overseas. Those owed less than $50 were paid right away. Those owed more were told they had to wait until 1945. Come 1932, with the country deep in the Great Depression, as many as 17,000 veterans and their families formed the “Bonus Army” and marched on Washington to put pressure on Congress and the president. They arrived on June 15 and camped in “Hoovervilles” across the Potomac from the capitol. Retired Marine Corps Major Gen. Smedley Butler, he of arguably the most anti-imperialist speech ever made by a high-ranking U.S. officer, visited the camps and encouraged the veterans.
The bonus veterans were ordered out, but they refused. They were soon labeled communists, and the Army was brought in under the leadership of Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his aide Dwight Eisenhower.
The guy who eventually led the attack on the veterans and put the torch to the encampment was Gen. George Patton. He had a plan to deal with them: “If you must fire do a good job—a few casualties become martyrs, a large number an object lesson. … When a mob starts to move keep it on the run. … Use a bayonet to encourage its retreat. If they are running, a few good wounds in the buttocks will encourage them. If they resist, they must be killed.”
They brought in the tanks, fired the tear gas, set the encampment ablaze, killed two veterans and ultimately drove the marchers out of Washington. In 1936, overriding a veto by President Roosevelt, Congress paid the veterans nine years early.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2002—N.Korea has nukes. Where’s the saber-rattling?
Hesiod nails this one on the head:
“In a startling revelation, North Korea has told the United States it has a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of an 1994 agreement with the United States, the White House said Wednesday night.” […]
This raises a whole BUNCH of issues. Like…
1) Why did this news “stun” the administration? Massive intelligence failure there.
2) This blows up the entire Rube Goldberg rationale for invading Iraq. If the North Koreans ADMIT they are developing nuclear weapons, and we don’t immediately call for “regime change,” this whole Iraq operation looks more and more like a grab for oil, than a “preventative war” of “self-defense.”
Stalinist North Korea is the most closed society on the planet today, so I can almost forgive the intelligence failure. But his second point is valid. Of course, the last thing I want to see is a belligerant US threatening war against a nuclear-capable North Korea. However, if the US resorts to intense diplomacy to resolve the situation (as it should), it would beg the question why Iraq is facing a loaded gun instead.
So apparently the odds that 1 million people will get health coverage have increased because of a fan. Policy-making, Florida-style. #FLGov— @AlecMacGillis
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Twitter’s abuzz over Florida’s “Fangate.” Appearance matters in debates, of course. Greg Dworkin points us to key pieces on last night’s fireworks, and updates us on the latest from the world of polling, and Ebola. Armando shared some interesting insights on Fangate, and some general media criticism. Strong follow-up to the RWNJ effort to revise WMD history. Members explain to Esquire’s Mark Warren why Congress is a living hell.
