Daily Archives: June 3, 2022

Russia is using disinformation to stir animosity between Poles and Ukrainians, warns the spokesman for Polands security services. As an example, he pointed to the response to a recent killing in Warsaw, which the Polish far right falsely sought to blame on Ukrainians.

Russian disinformation activities against Poland focus on arousing hostility between Poles and Ukrainians, including by attempt[ing] to convince Poles that by accepting refugees from Ukraine they are exposing themselves to economic crisis, security risks and social problems, wrote Stanisaw aryn.

That was the case with an incident earlier this month, when a man died after being stabbed during a fight on Nowy wiat, a street in central Warsaw, he continued.

In a video of the attack, voices speaking in Ukrainian could be heard. However, it was clear that they were coming from behind the camera. Nevertheless, some social media users claimed without any evidence that the attack had been carried out by Ukrainians.

That narrative was immediately picked up by the far right, including Confederation (Konfederacja), a party that sits in parliament. Its leaders held press conferences blaming the incident on foreigners and claiming that it was a result of the Law and Justice (PiS) governments immigration policies.

Foreigners stabbed a Pole who was trying to defend a woman, wrote Robert Winnicki, a Confederation MP. In recent months immigrants working as drivers in Warsaw have committed dozens of rapesThe mass immigration policy pursued by PiS has Western effects.

Even before welcoming millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russias war, Poland had one of the highest rates of immigration in the EU. For four years running it has issued more first residence permits to non-EU citizens than any other member state. A majority of those arrivals were also from Ukraine.

Confederation has long protested against that influx. In 2019, Winnicki warned that the government, by opening up the country to mass immigration, is repeating the catastrophic path of the West. He added that preserving cultural, ethnic and religious cohesion is the most important challenge for our nation.

Since Russias invasion of Ukraine, Confederation has been the only party in parliament to oppose measures intended to support refugees, who it argues are being given unfair privileges at the expense of Poles.

Another prominent figure, Jerzy Kwaniewski, the head of ultraconservative legal body Ordo Iuris, also responded to the recent incident in Warsaw by warning that Poland was following the path of some other European countries.

Poland must have either a policy of zero tolerance and zero political correctness or a slide towards no-go zones and tolerated violence, tweeted Kwaniewski, whose organisation has led influential campaigns against LGBT ideology and in favour of tightening the abortion law.

Yet it soon began to emerge that in fact the perpetrators of the attack on Nowy wiat were likely to be Polish. This was later confirmed by police and prosecutors, who revealed the names and images of the two men both Polish they were seeking on suspicion of carrying out the killing.

In his statement today, aryn noted that the initial disinformation surrounding the incident was intended to pursue the Kremlins political interests by exploiting emotions in society to create information chaos and hostility between Poles and Ukrainians.

aryn did not name any specific individuals and groups responsible for spreading such disinformation. Critics of Ordo Iuris and Confederation have accused them in the past of pushing the Kremlins agenda, and even of receiving Russian funding, but there is no evidence of such links and both organisations deny it.

After it emerged that the perpetrators of the incident in Warsaw were likely to be Polish, Kwaniewski deleted his tweet, but also argued that he had never specifically blamed the attack on foreigners.

Yesterday, in an interview with Onet, one of the leaders of Confederation, Krzysztof Bosak, admitted that he had made a mistake in blaming the killing on foreigners. But he refused to apologise, saying that his mistake had been to believe the media and repeat what he had read.

However, after the attack in Warsaw, major Polish media outlets did not report the nationality of the attackers, which was in any case not known at the time. In his interview with Onet, Bosak did not indicate which media information he was referring to.

The far-right leader also said he had doubts about the polices claims that Poles were responsible for the incident. I have witnessed cases of the police lying, he explained, before claiming that the authorities avoid giving nationality statistics on crimes to hide the growing proportion committed by foreigners.

Main image credit: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief ofNotes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, includingForeign Policy,POLITICO Europe,EUobserverandDziennik Gazeta Prawna.

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Russia using disinformation to stir hostility between Ukrainians and Poles, warn security services - Notes From Poland

Damodar Mauzos latest collection revolves around men who belong to different religions and castes but the characters aren't dipped in the ink of political correctness either.

Goa, for a large population, is a tourist destination. Its beaches invite everybody from near and far, and its locales are forever a favourite among Indian filmmakers. But theres so much more to the state than those pretty highlights. And thats where Damodar Mauzo places his stories. Hes not totally unconcerned with the tourists that flock to the numerous historical sites, though. However, he mostly focuses on the locals and their travails.

Theres an afternoon nap-like quality to his characters theyre laid-back and not too worried about the future. Does the clock run at a slower pace there? Mauzos tales in his latest collection, The Wait And Other Stories, can be digested quickly. It can even be tagged as a metro read despite not revolving around a grisly murder and its investigation.

The slim volume mainly takes a look at men who belong to different religions and castes. And theres always a twist ending that resembles the kind that youd find in the world of O. Henrys whimsical narratives.

The title has been grabbed from the opening story, The Wait, where a man yearns to reunite with his girlfriend, whos been badmouthed by his sister. Its a love story in every which way you think about it, but its bereft of any form of romance. This may be partly due to Mauzos commitment to showing you something deeper that doesnt rise to the surface in the opening paragraphs. Theres another couple in the story through which the writer tells us that a house needs to have at least two bedrooms one for the newlyweds and the second one for the parents. Love cannot stand on the legs of affection and appreciation alone.

Mauzo, also, concerns himself with the different sorts of things that the parents pass on to their children. These involve the seeds of prejudice that are sown in the minds of the young, too. In The Coward, a father disses his sons friend, Bindhaas, as the latter is from a lower caste. The son may not be able to untangle the knots of casteism on his own yet, but he still considers his pal to be a hero, as he can easily catch a snake and whirl it around his head like a merry-go-round and fling it away. Snakes are not the only creatures that Bindhaas has no problem with. He knows how to catch frogs, as well. And he can bring down two mangoes with one stone. Isnt he amazing?

In Burger, a beef burger causes much worry to a school-going Christian girl, and, as a result, she spends sleepless nights. Its the sweetest story in the collection and it brings out the innocence of children. Arent kids, after all, blank canvases? They go in the direction theyre advised to. The responsibility of shaping their views inevitably falls on us. And while Mauzo doesnt sanitise the religious barriers anywhere, he doesnt dip his characters in the ink of political correctness, either. They are presented as they are nave, cunning, affable, playful, and even brave.

The two stories that made me think a lot are The Aesthete and The Next, Balakrishna, in which the protagonists measure the worth of their respective spouses in terms of their beauty and skin colour. These are strong formulas that emit strong flavours since fairness creams are a big hit in South Asia. Again, Mauzo doesnt provide a one-size-fits-all solution here. In fact, there are no solutions, so to speak.

The Aesthete keeps taking dark turns and gently unravels the power of attraction. Of course, it isnt always skin-deep, but sometimes its just that and nothing else. And, if I have to add some points, Id say happy relationships cannot be sustained on the promise of ever-lasting youthfulness. Our bodies and thoughts change with age and consumption of knowledge and disinformation. Well have to waddle out of the muck and march ahead.

Ah, now that I have mentioned knowledge, I can finally turn the table towards Yasin, Austin, Yatin, which is my favourite. Its a simple story about a cab driver who borrows names from the religions of his passengers. If the passenger is a Hindu, he becomes Yatin, and if its a Muslim, hell introduce himself as Yasin. And the name Austin is specifically reserved for foreigners. This shape-shifting driver is so clever that he praises and criticises everybody, from the Portuguese to the Hindutva brigade. He seems to follow the different strokes for different folks policy. His intention is to make hay while the sun shines. I wont be surprised if he becomes a politician in Mauzos next story.

Xavier Cota, who has translated the stories from Konkani, makes the prose seem seamless. It flows without glitches for the most part. But though the collection offers a variety of endings, all the last lines dont feel satisfactory many might startle you, however, some might just whisper to you.

Karthik Keramalu is a writer. His works have been published in The Bombay Review, The Quint, Deccan Herald and Film Companion, among others.

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Book review: Damodar Mauzos The Wait And Other Stories feel like an oven baked snack - Art-and-culture News , Firstpost - Firstpost

The Boys Season 3 Review: Preparing to Bust a Cap

When The Boysadaptation debuted, it initially felt like yet another tiresome variation on the 80s grimdark aesthetic. Cool, cool, corporate superheroes who swear and kill? Super-edgy. Yet somehow, now that weve arrived at The Boys season 3, it feels like some of the most adept social satire of the moment. In part, thats because society at large has just gotten so much worse that mildly watered-down Garth Ennis no longer feels much like humorous exaggeration. But weve also seen movies like Dont Look Up attempt to capture and satirize the current moment, and the latest round of The Boys, frankly, does that way better, perhaps because its through the current media filter of superheroes and multiverse.boys season 3 review.

Just for starters, remember around the time of Avengers: Infinity War, that joke going around about how Ant-Man might defeat Thanos? Yeah.The Boys goes further than that.

Theres a lot more to it than dirty jokes, though. While the animated spinoff, The Boys Presents: Diabolicalleaned into the raunch and gore, season 3 takes aim at nearly everything in the zeitgeist right now. The Snyder Cut, Scientology, Fox News, commodification of social justice, Black Lives Matter, Sarah McLachlans animal rescue commercials, the NRA, intersectionality, Rogue Ones reshoots, Rick and Mortys Szechuan sauce fandom, Beyonce, Pepsi, Gal Gadot, Five Nights at Freddys, and much, much more all come in for skewering, along with all the superhero stuff youd expect.

The only major target of the moment it misses due to timing? Russia, depicted in typical post-Cold War, mafia style, with no reference to recent global adventurism. Theres also not a lot of COVID stuff realistically, no show wants all their actors wearing N-95s throughout.

It also leans hard into the Homelander-as-super-Donald Trump angle, with Americas secretly abusive superhero finding himself in several Trumpian situations, and holding similar rallies. Fans who watch just for the dirty jokes may miss some of these levelsor not want to see themselves represented in Homelanders fanbase. But it does beg the question of what Trump himself might be doing in this universe, where celebrities from our world specifically do exist alongside these super-exaggerations.

Sometimes thats fun, as when real big names who are obviously fans of the show appear as themselves. Other times its weird if were going to have the Vought corporation versions of Fox News and Sean Hannity, whats the point of name-checking the actual Hannity late in the season? And after a whole season that spoofed Scientology, were now mentioning Leah Remini and her whistleblowing about the real Scientology?

Just assume multiverse rules work, and some people from our Earth have variants here and some dont. They never say that, but its the easiest explanation.

As the season begins, the world of The Boys appears to be in a good place. Homelanders ratings plummeted since he was exposed as having an affair with a literal Nazi. Starlight and Hughie are fully domestic, with her popularity as a superhero way up, and his position at the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs seemingly secure. Meanwhile, Maeve and Butcher delve into the history of the 20th-century hero Soldier Boy, and his presumed death. At his level of power, whatever killed Soldier Boy could be powerful enough to destroy Homelander as well. BUTsince we all know Jensen Ackles has been cast as Soldier Boy, and his storyline altered to better resemble an 80s style Captain America, its really not a spoiler to say rumors of his demise turn out greatly exaggerated.

Soon enough, things go south again as Homelander figures out that, while the public hates literal Nazis, a significant (mostly white and male) segment of it loves his unapologetic anger at lesser mortals holding him back. And hes also starting to crack up a bit The Boys couldnt possibly have planned to specifically parody the Moon Knight TV show, but theres a mirror dissociation scene that plays that way. It merely demonstrates how plugged in Eric Kripke is to all the current tropes.

Thematically, the show this season takes on the bastardized Stan Lee saying espoused by Butcher that, With great power comes the absolute certainty that youll turn into a right c**t. He gets to test that theory most literally, with a vial that confers temporary powers, but other characters face similar dilemmas. The Boys doesnt entirely take Butchers espoused stance on the issue, but strongly implies that anyone with baggage should sort their issues out before getting anywhere close to power. Starlight, for one, continues to be the near-perfect All-American girl archetype with a steadfast moral compass. Even when Starlight is a nagging girlfriend, shes ultimately at least 90% in the right.

Also, there is a surrogate sort-of Stan Lee character this season whos full of it. Like almost everyone on the show. For all its critique of right-wing politics and corporatization run amuck, any accusations of political correctness seem unlikely to stick when, for example, an entire episode revolves around an orgy.

Still, all the swearing and satire and explicit sex would feel for naught without compelling characters. At the heart of the show, the dynamic between regular guy made-good Hughie and dream girl Starlight remains one fans can invest in. Butcher can be a pill, but this season takes care to show that deep, deep down, theres at least a spark of compassion. MMs individual adventure sees his principles sorely tested when his daughters stepfather pushes all his buttons. Homelander remains singularly compelling as the most morally awful metahuman ever. Antony Starr even offers periodic slips behind the mask to reveal glimpses of the hurt little boy inside. And Ackles makes an awesome addition as the 80s ideal of macho, in the sort of role Jeffrey Dean Morgan would have been a shoo-in for a decade ago.

On the minus side, Frenchie and Kimiko remain fairly boring, save for a Singing Detective-inspired lip-sync musical number. That turns out to be one of the seasons best creative flourishes. Another involves animated characters coming to life when the show busts out of its realistic parameters, it may make the viewer question whats real, but it also truly soars. Like the anti-Supe team at the heart of the show, this all works best when it does not give a [expletive] about the rules.

Expect big changes from the comics storyline, but the culmination manages big action, satisfying drama, and still sets the stage for the next obstacle. As in real life, there may be no ultimate hope of completely overthrowing entrenched power and celebrity. But The Boys does make a case that the constant fight remains worth it, and the small victories worth celebrating. It will almost be disappointing if the series ultimately ends with either heroes or villains entirely victorious.

Season 3 grade: 4.5/5

Recommended Reading: The Boys Omnibus Vol. 3

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The Boys Season 3 Review: Preparing to Bust a Cap - Superherohype.com

I am writing this on Maharana Pratap Jayanti (June 2) and puzzling through the history wars of the moment. In the common sense of the historical world that we grew up in, and that now seems to have all but disappeared, history was immense fun. It opened up the imagination to an incredible variety. Its purpose was never easy moral or political judgement or the search for comfortable narratives or simplistic explanations. It was not a world where the function of history was, to find, as is often said, a common delusion about kinship and a common platform for the hatred of the other. In the world of this history, one never had to choose sides. If you wanted a moral framing at all, you could be a votary of both Akbar and Pratap, trying to imaginatively see a certain kind of integrity in both their projects.

There was no hesitation in acknowledging Aurangzebs bigotry. But one did it in a slightly sotto voce voice, not for political correctness, but because of the realisation that the magnificence of the two historical cultures that I inhabited, Jaipur and Jodhpur, were often facilitated by deep collaboration with Aurangzeb. What would exorcising him even mean? Hunting down every collaborator who was at the frontlines of his army or provided him finance? Would Man Singh and Jaswant Singh also have to disappear as names?

Even the moral debates were wider. The battle over motives in history is one, that for the life of us, we could not understand. Was the desecration of temples, whether by Mahmud of Ghazni or Aurangzeb, driven by the motives of asserting political power or economic gain as secular historians want to assert or was it an act of religious bigotry? How does one even ascertain this? Would it make a difference? Would it make a moral difference if we said the demolition of Babari Masjid was politically motivated, not religiously motivated? Or as one of our history teachers used to say, he would be even more morally offended by temple desecration if it turned out it was done for mere opportunism rather than out of genuine conviction. It was a way of challenging the unexamined assumption that somehow a deed done under the sign of earthly functionality (power or riches) made it a less loathsome act than if it were done out of piety. At least the fanatic is not destroying lightly. He may be deluded, but he has not destroyed you for a trivial reason.

The point is not to settle these questions. It is to remember a context where they could be discussed without violence, censorship or community pride hovering in the background. In retrospect, what made that possible was a degree of detachment. One of the things we had to do in school was what used to be known as Socially Useful Productive Work. We read and recorded cassettes, and wrote exams for visually impaired university students, a practice we continued into the summers of our college days. In retrospect, this was an unexpected gift. It meant reading hundreds of hours of textbooks in Hindi and English. And two things stand out. I am genuinely puzzled by the idea floating around that dynasties like Cholas or Rahtrakutas were sidelined in North Indian schools and colleges. Often these textbooks were terrible introductions to the craft of history. They were compendiums of arguments. The good answer had to know what both Irfan Habib and Jadunath Sarkar or R C Majumdar and Romila Thapar had to say. The methodological premises were capacious. If I am recalling correctly, one popular set of textbooks, written by the widely read V D Mahajan would, in explaining the victory of Ghazni, invoke everything from their more agile military mobility to their discipline on account of the fact that Islam prohibited drink. But their very prosaically put together lists of arguments often up unexpected conjunctures and argumentative possibilities.

It is said we are entering new history wars, where the old shibboleths of Nehruvian and Marxist histories are being set aside. There is great non-academic but serious history being written. Academic historiography in India has a lot to answer for. It was often limited in the questions it asked, the methods it deployed, and the political ends it sought to sometimes serve. It was just not linguistically deep enough to explore the vast ocean of Indian history. Whole fields were sidelined intellectual history, the history of science or just even political history. But this was not some vast conspiracy to sideline Hindu history or heroes, it was a limitation of the methods and training and cabal-like character of many academic disciplines. Though equally, it has to be asked, why so many of our well-endowed centres of traditional learning outside the academy, which had all the languages and manuscripts, did not also broaden their fields and horizons.

But the contemporary fire and brimstone over history is unlikely to lead to a deeper understanding. This is because we are confusing wars of history with the wars of memory. The distinction between history and memory can be overdrawn. But it is an important distinction. As Pierre Nora put it, memory looks for facts that suit the veneration of the main object of recollection, the task of history is always complication, analysis and criticism. Memory has an affective dimension, it is supposed to move you, and constitute your identity. It draws the boundaries of communities. History is more detached, and the facts will always complicate both identity and community. History is not a morality tale as much as a very difficult form of hard-won knowledge, always aware of its selectivity. Memory is easiest to hold onto as a morality tale. History, even if written from the present is about the past; Memory is a kind of eternal truth, to hold onto, and carry forward.

So when the next public discussion of Rana Pratap or Prithviraj or Aurangzeb or Shivaji takes place now, it will not be a battle of bad versus good historians (that is a good battle to have). It will be between forms of memory. The facts are at best props for the dramas of creating kinship and finding enemies. We can truly have true history wars only when we are we have a sense of wry detachment and equanimity about the past. Otherwise what we have are wars of memory, which are sometimes necessary. But they often devour both the present and the past in violent furies.

The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express

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Why today's debates over Aurangzeb, Shivaji, Rana Pratap or Prithviraj Chauhan are not about good or bad history, but tussles over memory - The Indian...

Alfonso Pineda Ulloas action-thrillerThere Are No Saintsshouldve worked on multiple levels. Its written by the great Paul Schrader, the man behind such classics asTaxi Driverand the recentFirst Reformed. It boasts a formidable cast of cinema stalwarts. Alas, instead of a scathing critique of racial injustice, a revamping of the man seeks revenge after his family is murdered/kidnapped trope, the director delivers gratuitously violent, vulgar, clichd, jaw-droppingly sexist, and racist cinematic bile.

The plot is barely worth noting, as its as by-the-numbers as it gets. Released from a prison in South Texas, our heavily-tattooed hero, known as the Jesuit (Jos Mara Yazpik), goes after the goons led by a super-evil Vincent (Neal McDonough) who murdered his wife (Paz Vega) and kidnapped his son (Keidrich Sellati). With the cops after him, the Jesuit is running out of time to track and take down those scumbags. Luckily, he receives help from a sexy bartender (Shannyn Sossamon), who can lead him to Vincent. The story then somehow ends up in the Mexican jungle and concludes on the dourest of notes.

What does Ulloa have against the opposite sex? The central protagonist is frequently violent towards women; a multitude of highly graphic sequences portray women as helpless, sex-and-money-craving victims; theyre referred to as gold-digging w****s, beaten, shot, and tortured, their hands impaled by sharp knives.There Are No Saintsseems to regard females as either strippers or scantily-clad, easily-bought, incessantly-blabbering pests. Im far from being a proponent of political correctness, but witnessing such unabashed insensitivity is nauseating.

heavily-tattooed herogoes after the goonswho murdered his wife.

Ulloa never tries to justify his disregard for good taste. Even the Jesuit is frequently referred to as a spic. This is racism for the sake of racism. We all know that it still exists, but theres no point being made here. The same applies to all the over-the-top violence. I normally dig this stuff the gorier, the better but it must either be truly unnerving, played for laughs, or make somesortof a point. In Ulloas film, it just sits there. Shins get blown off, faces smashed, fingernails yanked, bats break bones, boiling water sears off skin, and a child is tortured. Youll wince for all the wrong reasons.

The shaky cam used throughoutThere Are No Saintsdoes the relatively well-orchestrated choreography a disservice. A bathroom brawl, after which our hero casually flirts with the bartender, could have been infinitely more effective if wiser camera placement and editing choices were made. The same applies to a fight inside a moving vehicle later on in the film. Its all sound and fury, signifying zilch. No one learns s**t from anything. Characters dont develop or grow; there are, indeed, no saints nor any redeeming qualities.

Im shocked Schrader wrote this, but then I recollect some of the duds on his mostly-impeccable resume (see, or rather dont,The Canyons). Still, theres no excuse for the vacuum of morals on display. A moral vacuumcanbe pivotal to great cinema, but in a monotonous rehash like this, some humanity is essential. The lackluster dialogue doesnt help. Unless you want to eat a baseball, I suggest you tell me where my money is right now, a character snarls.

I wish I could say that if you were to take out all the offensive s**t, Ulloas film would be silly, bloody fun. Considering the cast and writer, it really should be. However, the result is truly egregious. Id rather eat a baseball than have to sit throughThere Are No Saintsever again.

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There Are No Saints - Film Threat

The prospect of a new name for Fort Bragg is getting mixed reviews from veterans and civil rights leaders in Fayetteville.

A federal commission tasked by Congress with recommending new names for military installations named for Confederate officers has suggested that Fort Bragg become Fort Liberty.

Thats fine with Jimmy Buxton, president of the Fayetteville branch of the NAACP.

Its somewhat mind-boggling that they came up with Liberty, said Buxton, who was invited to share his input when representatives of the naming commission visited Fort Bragg in the fall for feedback.

I knew it had to be changed, Buxton said. I think I can live with Fort Liberty - what liberty stands for. And its what Fort Bragg has stood for for years. It brings a pretty good meaning to Fort Bragg.

Buxton said he didnt have a suggestion for a new name, but one of the men whose name he would have liked to be seriously considered was Gen. Roscoe Robinson, the first African American to command the 82nd Airborne Division.

Retired Army Gen. Dan McNeill, former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, said he thinks the commission chose wisely, considering all the suggestions it had.

"If you named it after a person, which person would you have picked? he asked. If you picked one, as opposed to groups of others, you would have left others behind.

McNeill said the commission spoke to a lot of diverse people while seeking feedback from the community.

"It was a good job of assembling a wide array of people," he said. "By the time the last meeting occurred, they all seemed to agree on Liberty. A name is what caused this problem to start with. When someone said Liberty, it made a lot of sense to me."

The naming commission announced its recommendations last week. They will be forwarded to Congress and, if approved, to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, who will have the ultimate authority to rename the installations.

Fort Bragg, with more than 53,000 troops, is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Forces.

The post, which opened in 1918 as a field artillery station, was named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, a North Carolina native. The Army artillery officer was known for his role in the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico. He later served as a Confederate general and was a slave owner.

Troy Williams, a legal analyst and criminal defense investigator, said at this point, he doesnt see the renaming of Fort Bragg as a big deal.

Williams served in the Air Force from 1973 through 1977.

I dont like the Fort Liberty name, Williams said. Its not going to sit well with some people. At this point, this far into the game, its a moot point to change this because they were Confederate officers.

Williams questioned when all the name changing would end in a period of political correctness. He said some military installations are named after Union Army leaders who slaughtered native Indians and the buffalo they hunted.

They were slaughtering these people. Theyve got stuff named after them, he said. My challenge is, are we going to change everything?Williams doesnt like the proposed name.

If were going to come up with a name, at least make it a name that honors people, he said. Fort Liberty what the heck is that? We honored Bragg all these years, and now we cant honor another person?

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., whose district includes Fort Bragg, has suggested that its association with Confederate Gen. Bragg instead be with Bragg's cousin, Union Army Gen. Edward S. Bragg of Wisconsin, as a compromise.

Most historians rate Edward Bragg as the better military leader.

William Greene, 59, the quartermaster of VFW Post 10630 in Hope Mills, served five years in the reserve before serving on active duty in the Army from 1985 to 2005.

Greene agrees with Hudson.

To me, personally, Id call it Fort Bragg after the Union guy, Greene said. The Confederate general theyve got to get rid of that. All the Confederate history.

But changing the name would be costly, he said.

Youre talking a lot of money, Greene said. I dont know how youll raise those funds to rename the roads, all the signs. Keep it simple, anyway, so we can save money.

The name Liberty would reflect all the things going on at Fort Bragg, he said.

Im just trying to save some money, he said.

Grilley Mitchell, 67, president of the Cumberland County Veterans Council, had a 20-year Army career that ended in 1993.

You know what? They have already made the decision, he said. I have no opinion. Theyre going to do what they want to do. We just get in line with the marching orders. Thats the reality of things. The military makes the decisions.

Mitchell said hes on record saying that the post should remain Fort Bragg but named for Edward Bragg.

He was an ambassador, a true patriot for the Union, he said. I thought there was a better option. Think of the money that was going to be saved.

The young may call it Fort Liberty, he said. For us, the old school, it will always be Fort Bragg. If you told anyone you were from North Carolina, they say, Fort Bragg. They know Fort Bragg. This should be an opinion made by soldiers who served in the military and their families and not the politicians.

The federal commission recommended new names for eight other Army installations. Fort Bragg is the only one that would not be named after a person.

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Reaction to new name for Fort Bragg mixed among veterans, activists - Up & Coming Weekly

Yet so much of our national dialogue these days urges a laser focus on notions of privilege, bias, inequity and vocabulary, and while most Americans want some kind of gun reform, most are less on board with the idea that we must revolutionize our attitudes on these other issues. A 2020 Pew Research survey found that in the U.S., only 40 percent say people should be careful what they say to avoid offending others vs. 57 percent who say people today are too easily offended by what others say.

As I read that, more of us feel that guns are a pressing issue and political correctness is not. And yet our discourse frequently centers on that issue, only briefly focusing on guns in the immediate wake of tragedies. For those who think racism is still our main problem, we might even think of a reckoning on guns as a component of antiracist efforts, given the repeated instances of violence motivated by racism.

Knowing this and knowing that legislative efforts at the national level went nowhere after shootings at Sandy Hook, Parkland, a Walmart in El Paso and outside a bar in Dayton, the reckoning now would not only have to be a renewed attempt to change gun laws, but also about confronting the fact that doing so appears impossible, and what this suggests about the very trajectory of the American experiment.

My pessimism may seem unwarranted. After all, there was a time when it was reasonable to think little would ever really change on the civil rights front in America. Black citizens and others of good will had been demonstrating, making speeches and were thoroughly fed up long before the civil rights victories of the 1950s and 1960s, only to encounter resistance from a united cadre of nakedly racist members of Congress hostile to calls for integration.

Senator Richard Russell Jr. a Georgia Democrat for whom the Russell Senate Office Building is named filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and earlier in his career responded to a challenger by stating: As one who was born and reared in the atmosphere of the old South, with six generations of my forebears now resting beneath Southern soil, I am willing to go as far and make as great a sacrifice to preserve and ensure white supremacy in the social, economic and political life of our state as any man who lives within her borders.

Part of what turned the tide in the fight for civil rights was a combination of technology and shame. Television offered visual evidence of the barbarity of segregationist racism with a vividness hitherto unknown to many Americans.

But that wont work this time. The instantly accessible moving image long ago lost its novelty, and most Republicans in Congress give no indication so far of being moved by the images from Uvalde or by the facts. As long as they maintain this posture, they have no more shame than the Dixiecrats of yore and our system has come to a point where those of us who do have shame, and want to vote for people who will do something about it, are thwarted.

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Opinion | Gun Violence Is Like What Segregation Was. An Unaddressed Moral Stain. - The New York Times

Seven candidates are running for San Diego County Sheriff in the race to replace retired Sheriff Bill Gore. The candidates listed on the June 7 ballot are retired sheriffs Sgt. Charles Chuck Battle, police Capt. John Gundo Gunderson, chief criminal prosecutor John Hemmerling, Undersheriff Kelly Anne Martinez, Combat Infantry Capt. Juan Carlos Charlie Mercado, retired sheriffs Commander Dave Myers, and peace officer Jonathan Peck. Mercado did not reply to requests for a Q&A response. Of these candidates Peck is the only Ramona resident.

We are running a Q&A with the candidates, two each week, through June 2. This week we continue the series with Dave Myers and Jonathan Peck.

Name: Dave MyersAge: 60Residence: La Mesa, 29 years. Born and raised in San DiegoFamily Members: Husband of 18 years, two children, one granddaughterEducational Background:2008 Management Certificate, Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)2004 University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Certificate, Finance Management2004 Stanford University - Certificate, Financial Management-Leadership2004 Harvard Law School Certificate, Financial Management1983 17th Regional Law Enforcement Academy, Miramar College 45 units (Deans List for Academic Excellence)Chapman University, Criminal Justice Investigation/Advanced InvestigationCA Department of Justice, Under the Influence/Drug AwarenessSan Bernardino Sheriffs office, Advanced Officer Training/Gang Awareness Train the TrainerInternational Law Enforcement Institute, Gang Awareness trainingCA Gang Investigations Association, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

Professional Background: Ive worked in law enforcement for 35 years, starting out as a police officer with the Carlsbad Police Department, and then working my way up the ranks at the Sheriffs Department from a patrol deputy to commander. Ive been tasked with handling almost every part of the Sheriffs Department. As commander, I managed 24 patrol stations and substations encompassing all of San Diego County. In addition, I managed the Special Investigations Division, which included homicide, narcotics, terrorism, and gangs and Courts Division, which is responsible for the security at all Superior Court facilities. I created the Sheriffs Department Border Crime Suppression Team to target cartel drug smuggling, human trafficking and gun smuggling and brought millions of federal dollars to our region to combat murders, robberies and rapes along our international border. For 15 years, I served as an elected trustee on the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, twice elected board chairman. Ive authored several articles, including one on lone wolf terrorism, LGBTQ In Law Enforcement, and regional law enforcement collaboration.

Current Occupation: Sheriffs Commander (retired)Board member, Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance (MOGO)Honorary Chair, Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation (Honoring Gold Star Families)

Dave Myers

(Big Mike Photography)

Why do you want to become sheriff?Ive known I wanted to be a police officer since I was a kid. I was in law enforcement for 35 years and worked for the Sheriffs Department for 33 years. The breakdown of trust between Sheriffs leadership and our communities is unfair to county residents and makes it harder for our deputies to do their jobs. The conditions and record-high death rates in our jails and crime lab mismanagement are unacceptable. Ive been overwhelmed with those in the Sheriffs Department and community members are pushing me to run for Sheriff. I could have stayed retired, but I dont want to leave the department in its current condition. We need to restore accountability and rebuild trust.

The crime rate increased in Ramona by 17 percent from 2020 to 2021, with violent crime increasing 8 percent and property crime increasing 22 percent. How would you address rising crime in Ramona to help reduce those numbers?First, Id hold the command at the Ramona station to account. The Sheriffs Department is a very large organization with access to resources all over the county. Crime trends need to be constantly monitored and when we notice increases, we must adjust resources from around the county to immediately address any possible increases. In the Sheriffs Department, we are one organization. We must know what proactive policing measures are successful and implement successes across the county in crime prevention and policing techniques. We must have open and transparent community involvement.

Drug use and drug-related crimes are a big issue in Ramona, according to the communitys current sheriffs lieutenant. How do you plan to deal with drug issues in Ramona and the backcountry?We are in an opioid crisis in the county of San Diego. Weve seen historically high numbers of opioid deaths. What I wont do is create fear in our communities by perpetuating a false narrative surrounding fentanyl. Sheriffs leadership produced and published a fake news story about fentanyl which creates fear in communities. All local and national medical experts debunked the fentanyl overdose video Sheriffs leadership peddled. As communities we all must work to help long-term drug dependent persons, welcome crisis stabilization centers into our communities and be very proactive in enforcing drug smuggling laws against the cartels and the scourge of prescription opioids.

What is your plan for dealing with homelessness and homeless issues in Ramona and the backcountry areas?For far too long, the unsheltered have been criminalized. In my over three decades of law enforcement, I found very few if any unsheltered community members who enjoy living on the streets. As communities we are defined by our compassion. As communities we must coordinate with local governments to assist our less fortunate community members. I believe government has an obligation to house and assist with hands up not necessarily handouts for community members to gain access to housing, medical care, and education. When a community helps, it creates hard-working, tax-paying citizens who will thrive and contribute to a communities success.

Name: Jonathan PeckAge: 41Residence: RamonaFamily Members: Married with four childrenEducational Background: Trained in the San Diego Unified SchoolsProfessional Background: 19 years in law enforcementCurrent Occupation: Law enforcement, five years in Los Angeles and 14 years in San Diego

Jonathan Peck

(Courtesy Jonathan Peck)

Why do you want to become sheriff? People in my community asked for a constitutional candidate to represent them and their interests. I am that candidate. On a personal level, my children and my wife deserve a community like I grew up in. As a provider and protector I intend to fight for that community.

The crime rate increased in Ramona by 17 percent from 2020 to 2021, with violent crime increasing 8 percent and property crime increasing 22 percent. How would you address rising crime in Ramona to help reduce those numbers?The retired Sheriff and the now undersheriff administration has been geared toward the politically correctness instead of the Constitutional rights of the law-abiding citizen. I intend to bring the Sheriff team back to their original constitutional duties to protect U.S. citizens and stay above the political chaos.

Drug use and drug-related crimes are a big issue in Ramona, according to the communitys current sheriffs lieutenant. How do you plan to deal with drug issues in Ramona and the backcountry?The invasion that has been allowed on our southern border is unacceptable. Article VI of the Constitution says to protect the nation from foreign invasion and domestic violence. The political rules in California have stopped the Sheriffs from protecting us from the drug cartels, sex trafficking and foreign invasion across our border. This is directly related to the California elected officials who no one is putting in check to stop these crimes. At the Tri-Community Sheriff meeting, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon Dicus and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco all talked about their efforts in our backcountry. I intend to team with them to shut down the Chinese and Mexican cartels illegal operations in San Diego County.

What is your plan for dealing with homelessness and homeless issues in Ramona and the backcountry areas?The Sheriff basic duty is to protect the citizens rights, from foreign invasion and domestic violence so they can enjoy life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. The homeless are citizens and need their rights protected. I as sheriff will ensure they are treated equally under the law. Law enforcement doesnt want to arrest a homeless person or any person who is in need in our community. Law enforcement want ways to protect, help and serve. We use to have a community of helpers. Does it still exist today?

Homelessness is a dilemma that our public officials have perpetuated on our citizens of San Diego County long enough. They have thrown give-away programs, housing programs, free hotel accommodations and toleration programs at this situation, all causing an increase in homelessness and vagrancy. The homeless need aid in getting back on their feet, not welfare. There are homeless drug addicts: stop the drug trades. There are homeless who lost their jobs due to the pandemic shutting down businesses: Change elected officials who shut those businesses through emergency policy. There are homeless with mental disorders: give them a place to go to get help: who shut down those institutions or stopped the community ministries doing this. There are homeless who want to be homeless: these need to be given options of becoming a good community member or be encouraged to seek their living elsewhere.

Read more here:

San Diego County Sheriff's candidates share their views - The San Diego Union-Tribune