To Anacreon in Heaven: O! Thus be it ever ...

We sing the National Anthem as a dirge. We plod through it, fearfully approaching highest notes. It was meant to be a celebration. The tune is a drinking song and everyone knew that when it was popularized.  The song was "To Anacreon in Heaven" and it honored the potential for romantic encounters. 

Official-Photo-Star-Spangled-Banner-Living-History_1.jpg

1

To Anacreon in Heav'n, where he sat in full Glee,

A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition,

That he their Inspirer and Patron would be;

When this answer arriv'd from the Jolly Old Grecian

"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,

"no longer be mute,

"I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot,

"And, besides I'll instruct you, like me, to intwine

"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine."

2

The news through Olympus immediately flew;

When Old Thunder pretended to give himself Airs.

"If these Mortals are suffer'd their Scheme to persue,

"The Devil a Goddess will stay above Stairs.

"Hark! already they cry,

"In transports of Joy,

"Away to the Sons of Anacreon we'll fly,

"And there, with good Fellows, we'll learn to intwine

"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine.

3

"The Yellow-Hair'd God and his nine fusty Maids,

"From Helicon's banks will incontinent flee,

"Idalia will boast but of tenantless Shades,

"And the bi-forked Hill a mere Desart will be

"My Thunder no fear on't,

"Shall soon do it's Errand,

"And dam'me! I'll swinge the Ringleaders, I warrant.

"I'll trim the young Dogs, for thus daring to twine

"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine."

4

Apollo rose up, and said, "Pry'thee ne'er quarrel,

"Good King of the Gods, with my Vot'ries below:

"Your Thunder is useless" — then shewing his Laurel,

Cry'd "Sic evitabile fulmen, you know!

"Then over each head

"My Laurels I'll spread;

"So my Sons from your Crackers no Mischief shall dread,

"Whilst snug in their Club-Room, they jovially twine

"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine."

5

Next Momus got up with his risible Phiz,

And swore with Apollo he'd chearfully join —

"The full Tide of Harmony still shall be his,

"But the Song, and the Catch, and the Laugh shall be mine.

"Then, Jove, be not jealous

"Of these honest fellows."

Cry'd Jove, "We relent, since the Truth you now tell us;

"And swear by Old Styx, that they long shall intwine

"The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine."

6

Ye Sons of Anacreon, then join Hand in Hand;

Preserve Unanimity, Friendship, and Love!

'Tis your's to support what's so happily plann'd;

You've the sanction of Gods, and the Fiat of Jove.

While thus we agree,

Our Toast let it be.

May our Club flourish happy, united, and free!

And long may the Sons of Anacreon intwine

The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine.

The signature is 6/4 in the key of C.
You can find "Anacreon in" 6/8 time.
Our banner song was formalized 3/4 time
but not a waltz about 1950. 

Acceptable performances of "Anacreon" here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MVYl8iy2Ic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ileDXkSTse8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l-n64NWHS4

280,551 views Feb 26, 2013

"The Anacreontic Song" Soloist: Jacob Wright Conducted by Jerry Blackstone From recording Poets & Patriots: A Tuneful History of "The Star-Spangled Banner," see http://starspangledmusic.org/poets-pa... Chorus: Justin Berkowitz, George Case, Mark Clague, Nicholas Davis, Stephen Gusukuma, Phillip Harris, John Hummel, Tim Keeler, Jonathan King, Nicholas Nestorak, Brandon Pemberton, Glen Thomas, and Scott Walters

And here - "Parody" they say but I say, "Right on." (This is a waltz.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-eZvRVywrA

6/4 time and Key of B-flat

"Myrtle has long been associated with Venus and love magick. Aphrodite is often shown wearing a myrtle-leaf wreath in her hair, and during the Roman festival of Venus Verticordia (Venus the Heart-Turner) on April 1, women bathed in water scented with myrtle and wore myrtle wreaths (the picture below shows a gold myrtle wreath from the time of ancient Greece).  In Eastern Europe, the wreaths held over the heads of a couple being married were originally made of myrtle (now gold crowns are used instead), and in Wales, brides once gave a sprig of myrtle to each bridesmaid.  In the Appalachian Mountains, throwing this magick herb into a fire was believed to make the face of one's future mate appear in the smoke.  In England, folk believed that myrtle wouldn't grow if it was not planted by a woman."-- http://www.alchemy-works.com/herb_myrtle.html

The Star Spangled Banner is a story and we stop at the opening scene. 

Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country, should leave us no more?

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Some people claim that the song is about Black slaves
but it is not. The third verse contrasts we free people
from the hirelings (Hessian mercenaries)
and slaves (subjects of the Crown). 

Chris Stapleton Sings the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFKXJ091Ed4

(Blues is very American.)

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Fake Americans

As a contractor in information technology, I usually work for placement and consulting firms. It is easier for me to be a W-2 employee though for my most recent project I was direct on a 1099. Very many placement firms headquartered in India have US addresses and through VOIP and other tools their recruiters have US phone numbers. I accept it all as a benefit of our global marketplace. Moreover, working in sales myself, I have been encouraged to take a less ethnic name for working on the phone, being "Michael Martin" as needed. So, I understand: If your name is Ramakrishna Suryadevara, you can be Kris Devara or Randy Devara or whaever. But there's a limit.

It was not that he called himself "Paul Miller" but that he flew the flag.

Many people are surprised to learn that non-citizens can serve in the American military. We are a nation of immigrants. Military service is one way to prove that you deserve to be a citizen. I had uncles born on the other side of the ocean who served in World War II (in our army, of course). We had a family narrative from the distaff side about a friend who voted illegally and when arrested showed his battle scars (from World War I) to the judge insisting that they gave him the right to vote. Somehow the authorities cleared up the paperwork for him. Anyway, people who serve in the military pick up American slang and drop many of their foreign habits. In fact, that story is the narrative behind the "Go for Broke" stamps of the US Postal Service that celebrate ethnic Japanese who fought in the American armed forces during World War II. It so happened that the Hawaiians did not understand that their buddies from the mainland had come from concentration camps ("relocation centers") until they were given a tour. There's a lot of lessons out there.

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The GOP as Pushy Beggars

That Donald Trump is a bully is obvious. His influence on the Republican Party and conservatives is also apparent. Back in late October 2016 when Trump’s election was still in some doubt in the minds of Democrats, at a press conference in Michigan, Michael Moore explained in clear language why Trump would win: Donald Trump brought to the polls millions of disaffected non-voters and other centerists whose personal losses and disappointments opened them up to a Leader making Promises. Now, the Grand Old Party attempts to energize its loyalists by reacting as a victimized bully.

 

Where do these "matching funds" come from?

Back in 2007, I was elected as a Republican precinct delegate from Ann Arbor Township. It was pretty easy. Ann Arbor is heavily Democrat. There were six slots on the GOP side of the ballot and I was one of four people running. Before moving here, I joined the Austin Tech Republicans luncheon club. Since then, I have been registered on both sides depending on the candidates in the local elections. Austin is heavily Democrat, but sometimes it is important to send the GOP leadership a message in a primary. The same is true of the Democrats. In 2016, I voted for Bernie Sanders as a vote against Hillary Clinton. 

 

Because I still have my Ann Arbor cellphone number, I have been getting these text messages from the Republicans. Their strategy reveals their soul. (And, yes, I block each one. They use a different number the next time.)

 

Now, it's my fault.

Aggressive beggars kept us from moving to Portland, Oregon. Back in 2010, after completing an associate’s, a bachelor’s, and a master’s, work was still hard to find in Michigan. So, we looked around. Portland was nice. The beggars were hard to take. They followed us on the street; sometimes they stood in front of us. Austin was different. With four months of 100-degree highs and no rain, brown was the new green. The beggars in the medians were selling ice water. I liked that entrepreneurial spirit. 

 

Despite the political narratives to the contrary, government in Texas follows the Taxachusetts model. Our senior federal senator, John Cornyn, never met a new law he did not like. We got a problem? Make it illegal. The state legislature made it illegal to buy Tesla automobiles by making it illegal to buy a car from a manufacturer who did not have a dealership in the state. It was the Texas automotive dealers association who got that passed in the Republican-controlled state legislature and signed by the Republican governor. That was changed a couple of years ago. Tesla is in orbit now and that plays well in Houston. 

 

Insistent Begging from Trumps Senior and Junior 

Working on a state agency project now, I have been diving into the Texas Compiled Laws, especially the Texas Government Code and the Texas Administrative Code. We have a franchise tax here. If you license your music or your painting or your poetry, you pay a tax on the income. But, if you license mineral rights, you are exempt from the franchise tax. That’s what makes fascism more successful than socialism: they know whose bread to butter.

 

Showing some concern and then blaming others.

The root of the problem is that in essence fascism is just another kind of socialism. Right wing syndicalism and left wing syndicalism are mirror images. Whatever the shades in their rainbows, the radiation is on the same spectrum. 

July 14 -- Bastille Day. I am not going to post all of these as they keep coming in, but this is starting to sound like On the Waterfront.

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On Saluting the Flag

When I leave home for drill, I am in uniform. I salute the flag when I step outdoors to load my vehicle; and I salute it again before I get into my car and drive off. When I come home, before I leave my vehicle, I put on my cover and I salute the flag before going indoors. Once inside, I change into civilian clothes and stand down the saluting as I unload my vehicle. I do not otherwise acknowledge Old Glory except to unfurl her if the wind has wrapped her around her pole. But what other people do is their own business.

When I joined the Texas State Guard, I took this oath of office: 

“I, MICHAEL MAROTTA , do solemnly swear 

that I will bear true faith and allegiance 

to the State of Texas 

and to the United States of America; 

that I will serve them honestly and faithfully 

against all their enemies whomsoever, 

and

that I will obey the orders 

of the Governor of Texas and the orders

of the officers appointed over me, 

according to the laws, rules and articles 

for the government of the Military Forces of Texas.”

Someone who does not salute the flag of the United States is not (necessarily) an enemy of the USA or Texas. They might be a citizen of Canada. They might have religious, philosophical, or personal reasons of their own. 

Flag salute. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that bowing down to a flag or saluting it, often in conjunction with an anthem, is a religious act that ascribes salvation, not to God, but to the State or to its leaders. (Isaiah 43:11; 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 John 5:21) One such leader was King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon. To impress the people with his majesty and religious ardor, this powerful monarch erected a great image and compelled his subjects to bow down to it while music, like an anthem, was being played. However, three Hebrews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—refused to bow to the image, even on pain of death.—Daniel, chapter 3.  Watchtower Online here 

You can read Billy Gobitis’s letter to the Minersville School Board, at the Library of Congress American Memory here. 

(Penn & Teller burn an American flag. One YouTube video is an out-take from The West Wing in which they burn an American flag in the White House. Penn Jillette gives a great defense. "Did you go to law school?" Josh Lyman asks. "No," Penn replies, "clown school.")

“And then Nate Boyer saw Kaepernick sitting and got mad.  Boyer is a former Green Beret who played football briefly with the Seattle Seahawks, and with the Longhorns at the University of Texas before that. After his initial anger of seeing Kaepernick sitting, he wrote the player a letter, saying he wished Kaepernick would stand up, but that he was willing hear him out about why he was sitting down.

“So I urged him to stand and then take action, because that's really how change will happen, and he said, “No, I'm committed to sitting until I feel that things are changing and that we're moving in the right direction.” And so through that conversation, I guess, we agreed on a middle ground of him taking a knee alongside his teammates.”

On why kneeling was better than sitting

“For me, that's a sign of reverence. You know, people take a knee to say a prayer. And then also, military personnel, it's very common to see an image of a soldier, or a marine, or an airman, or a sailor, take a knee in front of a fallen brother-in-arm's grave to pay respects. So, I just thought it was better, and it showed more about — that he's paying attention as well, he's not, in a sense, sitting it out. He's engaged.” Original NPR All Things Considered story from 17 October 2017 here.  Audio reply of 9 September 2018 ATC broadcast presenting further on the same subject.

This was how my mother learned to salute the flag in the 1930s. The Pledge of Allegiance was crafted by a socialist, Francis Bellamy. He also founded a magazine called The Nationalist. 

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ANOC: Advanced Non-commissioned Officer Course