Tea at Trianon: Honoring Our Troops

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, June 16, 2025

Honoring Our Troops

From Overton:

The U.S. Army just turned 250. But the way it celebrated says more about the future than the past. President Trump headlined the anniversary with a show of force—a full-scale military parade in Washington, D.C., complete with a brand-new Army ad that marked a decisive turn in tone. This wasn’t just a milestone event. It was a reset.
A reintroduction of the military’s mission, stripped of distractions and reframed through the lens of strength, sacrifice, and national pride. The video opened not with slogans or dramatized voiceovers, but with real soldiers, speaking plainly about what it means to serve.
“If we get the call, we have to go somewhere—we’ll do what needs to be done. Just the way we operate here.”
Another soldier put it bluntly: “This is one of the few jobs in the nation where we all take an oath, say I’m willing to put my life on the line for you, and they’re willing to put their life on the line for me.” The voices were calm. The visuals were raw. The underlying point was crystal clear: the military is not some sort of social experiment—it’s a calling. Soldiers spoke about their training, their preparation, their mindset.
“It’s just what we train for. It is what we want to do. My team leaders, squad leaders know exactly what to do—check equipment, check weapons, check ammo.”
And they weren’t talking in hypotheticals.
“We’re always ready to deploy within 18 hours,” one said.
“And handle the mission at task.”
These weren’t actors—these were warfighters describing their reality. (Read more.)

From The Vigilant Fox:

Trump’s celebration then put a spotlight on next-gen firepower, starting with the Army’s newest weapons. Soldiers marched with the XM7 rifle and XM250 automatic rifle, both equipped with the XM157 optic. These advanced systems give troops greater accuracy, speed, and adaptability on the battlefield, designed to perform in high-pressure, fast-changing combat environments. Next came the Infantry Squad Vehicle, a lightweight transport built for speed and agility across harsh terrain. Rolling behind was the S-MET trailer, a robotic hauler built to carry heavy loads through difficult terrain without slowing soldiers down. And overhead, a trio of small unmanned aerial systems—Ghost X, C-100, and X-10D—flew above the formation. These drones provide real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, giving soldiers eyes in the sky and the upper hand in complex environments. (Read more.)