11 November 2011

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- Dr. John McCrae, LtCol, Canadian Expeditionary Force

Comments

[MaryRC]

Thanks, Patrick. I know WWI was a tragic blunder, a colossal waste of lives and treasure. And yet reading McCrae's poem in praise of genuine sacrifice and selflessness, after wading through the birther swamp, is like coming out into clean fresh mountain air from a smoky smelly dungeon packed with troglodytes picking lice out of each others' hair.

[Jell Roll]

Did the record get broken with the 11/11/11 birther rally? Does anybody know if they manage to break to 2 figure barrier this time?

The previous record for the "Most Birther's in One Place at One Time" prize belongs to Berg, who actually had 77 at one time, although we don't know if all 77 were actually birthers.

[G]

Ms. Daisy was onsite and provided report with pics of the event:

http://crazyinternetpeople.blogspot.com/2011/11/veterans-day-in-washington-111111.html

Per her report, the peak size swelled to around 150 at one point, but was very temporary...so that might have accounted for mere onlookers that simply moved on.

It looks like the core size was 50-ish from both her reporting and any photos that have surfaced.

[MaryRC]

Did the record get broken with the 11/11/11 birther rally? Does anybody know if they manage to break to 2 figure barrier this time?

Two commenters at the bottom of Dr. Kate's Nov. 8 post were there and reported a "couple of hundred" attendees. Accounting for the obligatory birther inflation, that probably means around 50.

No news on the Stand Up America site yet. Judging from the comments there, all their supporters are "with them in spirit" but none of them are actually, you know, physically present.

I have to quote one of the SUA commenters because this just sums up the whole thing perfectly, as well as providing a textbook definition of the word "bathetic":

I think of the dark hours before the dawn on D-Day in 1944. Half a million soldiers, together, but alone with their thoughts. What will the dawn bring? Some will be Victors and Heros. Others, no less brave, no less worthy, will go down. This march cannot be postphoned again. To delay is to embrace defeat. We must be there, united in numbers that the mainstream media cannot ignore. I would be making the trip myself, except that we are having company come over this weekend, and the commitment was made to our guests a long time ago.