A Celebratory Picnic

Which person born on July 30th had the greatest impact on the US's political system?

Candidates include:

a) henry ford
b) smedley butler
c) arnold schwarzenneger

of course, what makes the question interesting is that only two of the names are commonly known. smedley butler is among the most decorated war heroes in US history. What makes him interesting though is that he became a pacifist critic of the war racket. Before he did though he was approached by a group of leading US industrialists in 1933 to run the military aspects of a coup to gain power and install a fascist regime. He turned on the nazi sympathizer barons and in doing so thwarted the business plot, perhaps the most credible threat to unhinge US democracy since the civil war.

In celebration of Smedley's bold stand against fascism and the power of moneyed interests, Evin and I invited several friends from the neighborhood for a BBQ. We did it sort of haphazardly and probably forgot to invite folks we would have wanted to join us, but the turnout was amazing.

Dozens showed up. Enough that people didn't all fit in the yard:


We also were joined by children and hosted by a professor emeritus:


Of course, we made sure to include four-legged friends Elmo (above) and Marty (below):


Evin gave an impassioned discussion of Smedley Butler's imprtance in American history but was averse to being photographed:


It was a terrific time and raised awareness about an important historical topic with tremendous contemporary echoes. We hope to celebrate Smedley's courageous legacy of fighting against totalitarian-friendly moneyed interests and their constant march to war and away from democracy.