Watch as the suckers applaud their false orange god.

It rarely even bothers to lie anymore. It tells you it is betraying you and dares you to notice.


From Slate.com:

Trump promises, sort of, to renegotiate Paris accord.



Straight from the House of Orange:

Statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord ...


I'll save you some IQ points by translating from semi-god to English.

The first part of the dog and pony show went like this:



"Blah, blah, blah, I'm so impressive."

On these issues and so many more, we’re following through on our commitments.  And I don’t want anything to get in our way.  I am fighting every day for the great people of this country.  Therefore, in order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord -- (applause) -- thank you, thank you -- but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers.  So we’re getting out.  But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair.  And if we can, that’s great.  And if we can’t, that’s fine.  (Applause.) 

Then more of the usual rhetorical masturbation:

"Blah, blah, blah, all men wish they were me."

I’m willing to immediately work with Democratic leaders to either negotiate our way back into Paris, under the terms that are fair to the United States and its workers, or to negotiate a new deal that protects our country and its taxpayers.  (Applause.) 

So if the obstructionists want to get together with me, let’s make them non-obstructionists.  We will all sit down, and we will get back into the deal.  And we’ll make it good, and we won’t be closing up our factories, and we won’t be losing our jobs.  And we’ll sit down with the Democrats and all of the people that represent either the Paris Accord or something that we can do that's much better than the Paris Accord.  And I think the people of our country will be thrilled, and I think then the people of the world will be thrilled.  But until we do that, we're out of the agreement.



And then the tiny-handed finish:

"Blah, blah, blah, all women want me."




Clumpy The Clown believes in nothing and knows nothing. Convenient for it, fatal for our freedom.

IT IS NOT IN THE LEAST OPPOSED TO ENSLAVING EVERYONE, AS LONG AS IT GETS CREDIT FOR IT.

Are you willing to play along?



TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

Fyodor helps one and all discover if they are part of the problem.

Katy Perry vs Taylor Swift: a timeline of their feud - Entertainment Weekly


If you clicked on the link above, you are:

PART OF THE PROBLEM!

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

Daddy, who was Tiger Woods?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Behold how fascism begets more (and worse) fascism!

1) Some right-fascist cretin threatens two girls in Portland, one wearing a hijab.
2) Good Samaritans intervene to help the girls.
3) Right-fascist cretin stabs two Good Samaritans to death.
4) Left-fascists demonize everyone they hate.
5) Right-fascists organize Clump Uber Alles rally for the sake of "free speech".
6) Left-fascists try to panic regular people into denying right-fascists free speech.

Welcome to the Third World, kiddies!



Portland mayor aims to nix free-speech rally, fears 'hatred' - ABC News



The mayor of Portland, Oregon, on Monday urged U.S. officials and organizers to cancel a "Trump Free Speech Rally" and other similar events, saying they are inappropriate and could be dangerous after two men were stabbed to death on a train as they tried to help a pair of young women targeted by an anti-Muslim tirade.

Mayor Ted Wheeler said he hopes the victims will inspire "changes in the political dialogue in this country."

It comes amid a wider debate in the U.S. about the First Amendment, often in liberal cities like Portland and Berkeley, California, and on college campuses, where violent protests between far-right and far-left protesters have derailed appearances by contentious figures.

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, and Ricky John Best, 53, were killed Friday as they tried to stop Jeremy Joseph Christian from harassing the women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, authorities say. Another who stepped in was seriously injured.

Christian's social media postings indicate an affinity for Nazis and political violence. He is accused of aggravated murder, intimidation — the state equivalent of a hate crime — and being a felon in possession of a weapon and is scheduled to be in court Tuesday.

The federal government has issued a permit for the free-speech rally Saturday and has yet to give a permit for an event June 10. The mayor says his main concern was participants "coming to peddle a message of hatred," saying hate speech is not protected by the Constitution.

A Facebook page for the event says there would be speakers and live music in "one of the most liberal areas on the West Coast." It says it will feature Kyle Chapman, who describes himself as an American nationalist and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump.

Chapman was arrested at a March 4 protest in Berkeley, the birthplace of the U.S. free speech movement in the 1960s that has become a flashpoint for the extreme left and right since Trump's election.

The University of California, Berkeley, has been criticized for canceling an appearance by conservative commentator Ann Coulter in April and another by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in February. It canceled Coulter's speech amid threats of violence, fearing a repeat of rioting ahead of the Yiannopoulos event.

Trump has condemned the stabbing, writing Monday on Twitter: "The violent attacks in Portland on Friday are unacceptable. The victims were standing up to hate and intolerance. Our prayers are w/ them."

Wheeler said he appreciated Trump's words but stressed the need for action.

"I hope we rise to the memory of these two gentlemen who lost their lives," the mayor told reporters. "Let's do them honor by standing with them and carrying on their legacy of standing up to hate and bigotry and violence."

The mother of one of the targets of the rant said she was overwhelmed with gratitude and sadness for the strangers who died defending her daughter, 16-year-old Destinee Mangum.

Mangum told news station KPTV that she and her 17-year-old friend were riding the train when Christian started yelling at them. She said her friend is Muslim, but she's not.

"He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia, and he told us we shouldn't be here, to get out of his country," Mangum said. "He was just telling us that we basically weren't anything and that we should kill ourselves."

The teens moved toward the back of the train, preparing to get off at the next stop.

"And then we turned around while they were fighting, and he just started stabbing people, and it was just blood everywhere, and we just started running for our lives," Mangum said.

Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was stabbed in the neck. His girlfriend, Miranda Helm, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he was recovering his strength in the hospital.

Telephone messages left at the home of Christian's mother Sunday and Monday were not returned. It was not clear if he had a lawyer yet.

A day before the attack, cellphone video confirmed by police Sgt. Pete Simpson shows Christian using expletives as he rants about Muslims, Christians and Jews on a train. At one point, he threatens to stab the driver of the train Thursday, according to video from a passenger posted by TV station KOIN.

Simpson says police also are investigating an incident that day involving Christian and a black woman on the train, but he didn't immediately respond to emails seeking additional details.

Christian served prison time after holding up employees at a convenience store with a gun in 2002, court records show. He went back after pleading guilty in 2011 to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was behind bars again in 2013 for violating a condition of his release, according to court records.

Tomica Clark told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she has known Christian since elementary school. She said she was surprised to hear people call Christian racist. Clark is black and said Christian had many black friends.

"He never disrespected me," Clark said, but added that he changed after he got out of prison.

"Prison took the real him away," she said.

What happens next? It isn't hard to imagine. History is replete with examples.

The clowns "in the middle" who scream and whine about "dialogue" and "common ground" (Sorry, Glenn Beck.) are no help. We are witnessing the death throes of Western Civilization, the one based on Judaism, Christianity, and Greco-Roman philosophy. How many folks do you know who respect Moses, Jesus, and Socrates?

Exactly. None.

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

None dare call it Reverse Cultural Appropriation!

And I'm pretty sure that tattooing this guy's winkie is racist.

From World of Buzz:

Black Man Gets a White Penis Transplant, Will Now Have It Tattooed ...


On April 21, the world witnessed its third successful penis transplant performed on a black man at Tygerberg Hospital, in Cape Town, Metro reported.

The 40-year-old patient from South Africa lost his manhood 17 years ago in a botched traditional circumcision. Needless to say, his life was affected by the incident especially when it comes to relationships.

Professor Andre from the surgical team said:

“The man had been in relationships before, but whenever the question of sex arose, he bailed out. But that will no longer be a problem.”

“He had been suffering with depression beforehand, and was even suicidal.” 

Thanks to the surgical team, the man can now regain his confidence and get back into the dating game.

“There are no signs of rejection and all the reconnected structures seem to be healing well. He is expected to regain all urinary and reproductive functions of the organ within six months of the transplant,” Andre said.

“The penis is working well, he can get erections already,” he added.


However, there was a slight issue with the colour of the penis, as the professor said:

“The patient is black, and the donor was white.”

As such, the patient will have to get his penis tattooed, six to eight months after the operation. The procedure must be done by a tattooist specialising in medical tattooing that will require a few sessions. Tattooing at that sensitive part? Yikes! 

It’s perfectly fine to tattoo a penis transplant though, just like how it’s okay for nipples after mastectomy, according to another medical team member.

Anyway, we’re happy that the patient can lead a normal life again after the transplant. Good luck in your next relationship mate!


TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

Among other things, The Messiahdent's latest "wife" doesn't know what being Catholic means.

Of course, she has plenty of company. Just ask any divorced and "remarried" Catholic if he or she is committing adultery...


From Washington's other newspaper:

Melania Trump is Catholic, she confirms after Vatican visit



TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

SEX IS DEATH. (Part 116: Why do people take sex more seriously than death?)

I came to Carthage, where I found myself in the midst of a hissing cauldron of lusts. I had not yet fallen in love, but I was in love with the idea of it, and this feeling that something was missing made me despise myself for not being more anxious to satisfy the need. I began to look around for some object for my love, since I badly wanted to love something.

 — St. Augustine, Confessions

Mr. Godbolt knows. I suspect other people's deaths seem mostly abstract while our own death and orgasms are all too real.


From the Clarion-Ledger:

Suspect confesses to C-L reporter; 8 dead, including deputy

Suspect Willie Corey Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger he intended to commit "suicide by cop" after a shooting rampage in Bogue Chitto and Brookhaven that left eight dead, including a Lincoln County deputy, two boys, his mother-in-law and other family members.

"I ain't fit to live, not after what I done," a handcuffed Godbolt, 35, who had gotten into an argument with his estranged wife over their children, told The Clarion-Ledger.

Authorities from multiple agencies took Godbolt into custody on East Lincoln Road in Brookhaven Sunday morning, some seven hours after the shooting spree started. He has been charged with one count of capital murder and seven counts of first-degree murder.

Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain, in a news release, said the shooting spree began at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday with a domestic call at 2871 Lee Drive in Bogue Chitto.
Godbolt told The Clarion-Ledger that he had gone to the residence to talk about his children. At some point neighbors called police, and that's when the deputy arrived to try to calm the situation.
Four bodies — those of three women and Lincoln County Deputy William Durr, 36 — were recovered there.

Vincent Mitchell, the stepfather-in-law of the suspect, told The Associated Press that Godbolt's wife and their two children had been staying at his Bogue Chitto home for about three weeks after she left her husband.

After the sheriff's deputy arrived at the house, Godbolt looked as if he were about to leave, then reached into his back pocket, pulled a gun and opened fire, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he escaped along with Godbolt's wife. But he said three family members were killed in his home: his wife, Barbara Mitchell; her daughter, Toccarra May; and his wife's sister, Brenda May.
"I'm devastated. It don't seem like it's real," Mitchell said. 

The second crime scene was located at 1658 Coopertown Road in Brookhaven where the bodies of the two boys were found. The shooting there happened sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.
As authorities, including several employees of the coroner's office, processed the first scene, a call suddenly echoed out over every law enforcement radio on site: "The suspect is at a residence at 312 East Lincoln Road. He has opened fire."

Members of multiple agencies left the Bogue Chitto scene and arrived at East Lincoln as Godbolt attempted to flee the scene on foot.

As deputies held him on the ground, Godbolt talked freely about his family and how he  just wanted to "live and let live, and they wouldn't let me do that." 

"My pain wasn't designed for him. He was just there," Godbolt said of the deputy. "We was talking about me trying to take the children home ... somebody called the officer ... that's what they do, they intervene. It cost him his life. I'm sorry."

When asked what's next for him, Godbolt said, "Death ... Suicide by cop was my intention. I ain't fit to live. Not after what I've done."

"Intention", eh, Willie? All too real when it stares you in the face. I hope you get yourself right with God, son.

Godbolt, of 377 Brister St. in Bogue Chitto, professed to The Clarion-Ledger his love for his wife, children and Bogue Chitto.

He also said he had been shot by someone inside the home. He was treated and taken by ambulance to a Jackson hospital. It wasn't clear who had shot him.

The bodies of a man and a woman were recovered at the home on East Lincoln in Brookhaven.

Strain said authorities were waiting on the notification of next of kin before releasing the names of the other seven victims, though family members confirmed the identity of some of the victims.


Part 1: SEX IS DEATH. (Stories for boys) is here.
Part 2: SEX IS DEATH. (Distaff death) is here.
Part 3: SEX IS DEATH. (Joyously dispensing death) is here.
Part 4: SEX IS DEATH. (Sex is depression) is here.
Part 5: SEX IS DEATH. (When self-pleasuring becomes self-destruction) is here.
Part 6: SEX IS DEATH. (Sex is theft) is here.
Part 7: SEX IS DEATH. (A review of Bareback Mountain) is here.
Part 8: SEX IS DEATH. (What is the ultimate penalty?) is here.
Part 9: SEX IS DEATH. (Haven from reality) is here.
Part 10: SEX IS DEATH. (Sin-redemption-reasons-reason) is here.
Part 11: SEX IS DEATH. (Mommy loves you) is here.
Part 12: SEX IS DEATH. (George Gilder offers a clue) is here.
Part 13: SEX IS DEATH. (Post-killem depression) is here.
Part 14: SEX IS DEATH. (Whither womanhood) is here.
Part 15: SEX IS DEATH. (Saving psychology 1) is here.
Part 16: SEX IS DEATH. (Saving psychology 2) is here.
Part 17: SEX IS DEATH. (Fear of the boomers) is here.
Part 18: SEX IS DEATH. (The battle continues apace) is here.
Part 19: SEX IS DEATH. (Hot for teacher) is here.
Part 20: SEX IS DEATH. (Kids do the darndest things) is here.
Part 21: SEX IS DEATH. (Defects) is here.
Part 22: SEX IS DEATH. (Privates' privacy) is here.
Part 23: SEX IS DEATH. (National Condom Week) is here.
Part 24: SEX IS DEATH. (Wegenics) is here.
Part 25: SEX IS DEATH. (White wedding) is here.
Part 26: SEX IS DEATH. (Literally) is here.
Part 27: SEX IS DEATH. (Can't get me no satisfaction) is here.
Part 28: SEX IS DEATH. (Wrestle with mania) is here.
Part 29: SEX IS DEATH. (Press one for death/Presione uno para la muerte) is here.
Part 30: SEX IS DEATH. (Raunch culture) is here.
Part 31: SEX IS DEATH. (Gimme some of that sweet zombie lovin') is here.
Part 32: SEX IS DEATH. (The devil made me eat my baby) is here.
Part 33: SEX IS DEATH. (Mind control = womb control) is here.
Part 34: SEX IS DEATH. (The expense of playing with yourself) is here.
Part 35: SEX IS DEATH. (You can't always get what you want) is here.
Part 36: SEX IS DEATH. (Whom does a master serve?) is here.
Part 37: SEX IS DEATH. (Shootin' 5 for 8) is here.
Part 38: SEX IS DEATH. (Being a never-wed mom of four and an illegal alien is no picnic either) is here.


TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

If you Alt-Reich pansies wanna kill some goat-rapists, stop picking on little girls and join the Marines.

From Oregonlive.com:


Portland suspect in 2 slayings on train is known for hate speech ...


Jeremy Joseph Christian, the man accused of aggravated murder in the brutal knife slayings of two good Samaritans on the MAX, has described himself as a sociopath and threatened to kill or stab people in Facebook postings online.

"I AM TROUBLE," he said in an April comment.

He has shared anti-Muslim memes, espoused Nazi beliefs and called Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh a "true patriot."

Christian, 35, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of aggravated murder and attempted murder early Saturday morning, records show. He was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor charges, according to records. He's being held without bail.

He has a criminal history, including felony robbery, kidnapping and weapon convictions, records show. When he was 20 years old, he was shot in the face by Portland police after he robbed a convenience store.

In October 2011, Christian was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in federal court and sentenced to time served, plus three years of supervised release. He violated the terms of his release several times – in August 2012 for testing positive in an urine test for use of "spice,'' or synthetic marijuana, and failing to attend treatment a month earlier. He agreed to go to a residential re-entry center, but then violated supervision again by not staying at the re-entry center and was sentenced to another nine months in custody in 2013.

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

America's Catholic-From-The-Waist-Up President is still dead.

Nope, not Al Smith. We should have been so lucky.

John F. Kennedy Centennial - 100th Anniversary of JFK's Birth

https://jfkcentennial.org/

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has announced a year-long celebration to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of President John F.

‎Events · ‎Where in the World is JFK? 

More than likely he's in Hell.

JFK, the forever-young president, 100 years on - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../jfk...100-years.../f62ac0f2-4188-11e7-9869-bac8b4...

We cannot imagine John F. Kennedy on his 100th birthday. For all of us, he will always be a man in his 40s, exuding the vigor that became one ...

100 years after John F. Kennedy's birth, a look at his long ... - CNN.com

www.cnn.com/2017/05/29/politics/john-f-kennedy-long-presidential-campaign/

Harry Reid, the former Senate Democratic Leader, recently remarked on the geriatric quality of his party's top tier of 2020 presidential ...

News Release - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

https://www.jfklibrary.org › About Us › News and Press › Press Releases

JFK Library Announces Celebration to Mark Centennial of John F. Kennedy's ... a year-long celebration to honor the 100^th anniversary of the birth of President ...

Remembering JFK 100 years after his birth - USA Today

https://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/people/2017/...jfk-100-years.../102195156/

A century after President John F. Kennedy's birth, his legacy lives on.

John F Kennedy's life and legacy remembered on 35th president's ...

www.foxnews.com/.../john-f-kennedys-life-and-legacy-remembered-on-35th-presidents...

Monday, May 29, 2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Kennedy, ...

Memorial Mass In Hyannis To Mark 100 Years Since Birth Of President ...

www.wbur.org/news/2017/05/28/jfk-st-francis-xavier-mass

May 29, 2017 marks 100 years since the birth of former President John F. Kennedy.

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

WHAT IS IT WITH THESE ASSHOLES AND THEIR RUSSIAN FETISH???

Seriously, kiddies, you're cool if you love vodka, hot Russian babes*, or nineteenth century Russian literature. But everything else Russian is shit produced by slaves who refuse to free themselves or get out of the shit.


From The Old Gray Whore:

Kushner Is Said to Have Discussed a Secret Channel to Talk to Russia ...


Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, spoke in December with Russia’s ambassador to the United States about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion.

The conversation between Mr. Kushner and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, took place during a meeting at Trump Tower that Mr. Trump’s presidential transition team did not acknowledge at the time. Also present at the meeting was Michael T. Flynn, the retired general who would become Mr. Trump’s short-lived national security adviser, the three people said.

It is unclear who first proposed the communications channel, but the people familiar with the meeting said the idea was to have Mr. Flynn speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues. The communications channel was never set up, the people said.

The three people were not authorized to discuss the December meeting and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House declined to comment on Friday night.

News of the discussion was first reported by The Washington Post. The revelation has stoked new questions about Mr. Kushner’s connections to Russian officials at a time when the F.B.I. is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s presidential election and whether any of Mr. Trump’s advisers assisted in the Russian campaign.

Current and former American officials said Mr. Kushner’s activities, like those of many others around Mr. Trump, are under scrutiny as part of the investigation. But Mr. Kushner is not currently the subject of a criminal investigation.

In the days after the meeting with Mr. Kislyak, Mr. Kushner had a separate meeting with Sergey N. Gorkov, a Russian banker with close ties to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.

The Post reported that the direct line between the transition team and the Kremlin in concept would have been conducted through Russian diplomatic facilities to avoid being monitored in American communication systems. The Post also reported that Mr. Kushner had proposed the communications channel and that it took Mr. Kislyak by surprise. The New York Times could not immediately confirm these details.

Even if the proposal was designed primarily as a conduit to discuss policy issues, it is unclear why such communications would have needed to be carried out though a secret channel.

American intelligence agencies first learned about the discussion several months ago, according to a senior American official who had been briefed on intelligence reports. It is unclear whether they learned about it from intercepted Russian communications or by other means.

Mr. Trump came into office promising improved relations with Russia on numerous issues, including greater cooperation to try to end the civil war in Syria. During the presidential campaign, he frequently criticized the Obama administration’s Syria policy as unnecessarily antagonistic toward Russia.

The idea behind the secret communications channel, the three people said, was for Russian military officials to brief Mr. Flynn about the Syrian war and to discuss ways to cooperate there. Neither side followed up on it. And less than two weeks later, the idea was dropped when Mr. Trump announced that Rex W. Tillerson, a former chief executive of Exxon Mobil who had worked closely with Russian officials on energy deals, was his choice to become secretary of state.

The interactions between Mr. Trump’s advisers and Mr. Kislyak have been a constant source of trouble for the new administration.

In February, Mr. Flynn had to resign as national security adviser for misleading Vice President Pence about the nature of phone calls he had in late December with the Russian ambassador. Mr. Flynn had told Mr. Pence that the two men had merely exchanged holiday pleasantries, when in fact they had discussed sanctions that the Obama administration had imposed on Russia for its campaign to disrupt the election.

Weeks later, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had not disclosed during his confirmation process meetings he had with Mr. Kislyak in 2016. Then, during a May 10 Oval Office meeting with Mr. Kislyak and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, Mr. Trump disclosed highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State to the Russians...

* See MTL Blog

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

A sister's love for her fallen brother.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago-trained violin maker uses gift of music to honor fallen brother ...


She begins each time by sharpening her tools, with the sound of metal on metal echoing through the sunlit old house she calls both home and workshop. Making a violin is a methodical art. For Sonja St. John, that structure is a necessity — and the routine, in many ways, a saving grace.

"It's a way to stay on track even when chaos can be happening right outside," she says.

She finishes each new violin with another ritual, by gluing a small, handwritten message inside. This began as a light gesture, with favorite fortunes from cookies placed inside with a wink as hidden signatures of sorts from her, the violin maker. But the notes she leaves now have become far more personal and meaningful.

Each is different, but they are often a tribute to those who've given of themselves in some way, members of the military included. Her most recent one reads: "In honor of past, present and future souls of courage and wisdom."

The person foremost on her mind when she writes those messages is her brother, Jon St. John, an Army specialist who died a decade ago when a roadside bomb exploded near the military vehicle in which he was the gunner.

Jon, Sonja's only sibling, was 25. She was 22 and just beginning her career after graduating from the Chicago School of Violin Making. She has a vivid memory of sliding to her kitchen floor, her back against the cupboards, when her parents shared the news in a phone call.

This was her big brother, her fishing buddy and protector, tall and strong-willed but also kind in sometimes surprising ways. Her favorite photo of the two of them together was taken at one of her violin recitals in 2002. He'd come home from college, wearing what she figures was probably his nicest sweater, and brought her flowers.

"He was just always a good friend to have around," she said, noting how music had always been a bonding point for them. He'd teach her about his favorite rock bands. She introduced him to jazz violin.

But in the years after his death, Sonja stopped playing, as grief enveloped her.

She got married in 2008 and divorced seven years later. After moving back to Neenah, her Wisconsin hometown, to be near her parents, she increasingly tried to drown that grief with alcohol, so much so that she checked into rehab more than once.

"I was very sick for quite a long time," she said.

Her grandmother had died of heart problems shortly after Jon's death but, as Sonja saw it, she really died of heartache. Truth was, her own heart also had been broken for years.

Then, last fall, she received a note from Jason Moon, a musician and himself an Iraq war veteran whom she'd first met as a teenager, when they played music together. Moon had had his own struggles, with PTSD, after coming home from the war. He hadn't been able to offer much support when Jon died, he said, but things had changed for him in recent years.

Now the head of a nonprofit arts organization for veterans, called Warrior Songs, Moon asked Sonja if she'd be interested in helping create a song for his group's second album. This one will focus on telling the stories of women in combat, as well as the mothers, wives and sisters who've lost loved ones to war.

The Warrior Songs CDs are given free of charge to veterans and are intended to be a source of support and healing.

In honoring Jon — and telling her own story — Sonja, now 33, also saw a chance to move forward and to stay sober.

"I just really woke up when I realized I know that my brother was willing to die for me and our country," she said. "I better be willing to live and take advantage of what I DO have."

She agreed to play a violin solo for the song and soon began practicing again.

She also began building a new violin, work she'd set aside to focus on instrument repair.

This winter, Moon recorded an interview with Sonja, and she gave him some of her journal entries. He then shared those materials with songwriter Kevin Welsh, who wrote the resulting song, titled "Star in the Dark."

"Hey brother, where you gone?" the song begins.

"It's been too long since you've been home.

"They called it 'casualty.'

"It doesn't seem casual to me."

his month, Sonja recorded the violin accompaniment for the song at a studio in suburban Milwaukee.
Her parents, Kay and Jon Sr., were there, too. They recalled the son who, in 2005, showed up with Army brochures to tell them he'd be leaving in 36 hours for basic training at Fort Hood, Texas.

"You know there's a war going on?" his mother recalled saying to him.

"Yes, I do," he said with a determined look. Though worried, his parents gave him their full support.
Now their daughter is the major focus.

"Who knew what kind of healing would come from this process?" Moon said of Sonja's personal journey in helping create the song, which is being released this weekend on the Warrior Songs website.

Still, it was clear that she was nervous. She'd never played in a recording studio before and was still feeling rusty.

To help keep her calm, she placed photos of Jon on a nearby music stand. Then she played a solo that would, like the song itself, become a message of another kind, much more public than those slips of paper hidden inside a violin that may never be seen.

As she finished, audio engineer Jonathon Leubner smiled. "That's lovely," he said. "I can't thank you enough."

"Well," she replied through a studio microphone, "let's all thank my brother."

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.

Today is Memorial Day, on which we remember our honored war dead.

Something old from Amazon.com:


The Soldiers of the Flanders Field American Military Cemetery ...



The American engagement in World War I was short but violent and aggressive. Many American families lost a son, daughter or spouse in a far an unknown land.

This book does not specifically cover or emphasize the military operations in Flanders, Belgium. We have tried to present a unique document with original photography which has never been published before. This way we have taken it a step further than most authors who mainly focus on strategy and battlefields.

This 705 page profusely illustrated book includes 414 cameos of American soldiers who gave their lives on two different fronts in Belgium between July 1918 and the armistice. It also covers the history of the United States leading up to their involvement in World War I, the 4 Divisions (27^th,30^th, 37^th and 91^st) in Belgium, the aftermath documenting the work of the American Graves Registration Service, the origins of the cemetery, the establishment of the American Battle Monuments Commission, American Overseas Memorial Day Association and Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930’s.


Something new from ABC7 in New York:

U.S. Navy SEAL killed in parachute accident at Fleet Week event


A U.S. Navy SEAL was killed on Sunday when his parachute malfunctioned during a Fleet Week event at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Four SEALs on a parachute team dropped out of a helicopter during a stunt, but one of those parachutes did not open.

"One of the team members' parachute malfunctioned. The Navy SEAL's parachute failed to open properly, and he landed in the water adjacent to Liberty State Park," said USN Admiral Jack Scorby, the US Navy Commander of the Mid-Atlantic.

A piece of the parachute fell to the ground, and moments after, the Navy SEAL cut himself loose, and splashed into the water.

He was rescued immediately by the US Coast Guard and Marine unit teams who were on standby. He was then rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead an hour later.

"I ask for all of your prayers for the Navy SEAL community, who lost a true patriot today," added Admiral Scorby.

Good Catholic kiddies will do better than that, Admiral. We will pray for the salvation of his immortal soul.

The Navy SEAL was a member of the Leap Frogs, an elite US Navy Parachute Team.

In Jersey City, four SEALs were supposed to land in the park. The parachute demonstration was a part of a Fleet Week event. It was part of several events, like an unrelated helicopter demonstration that had many spectators confused an unaware of the tragedy that had just taken place.

The cause of the parachute malfunction is under investigation.

The Navy SEAL's identity is being withheld pending family notification.


The names of the wars change, but the cause remains the same. Please pray for the souls of all our fallen heroes.

TheChurchMilitant: Sometimes anti-social, but always anti-fascist since 2005.