“What’s Wrong With You?”

The Daily Reckoning Strikes a Nerve [The Daily Reckoning] June 07, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( “What’s Wrong With You?” Annapolis, Maryland [Brian Maher] BRIAN MAHER Dear Reader, Yesterday’s reckoning drew a heaping mail. We reckoned that the United States contributed less to World War II victory than the Russian contribution. Thus we have offended the national pieties. We may as well have denounced the institution of motherhood, pies with apples in them and the Declaration of Independence. Reader K.K deals with us this way: What a lousy thing to write on D-Day. Any other day, your theory might be something someone might want to read… maybe, but not today. What’s wrong with you! Miserable. What is wrong with us? Much… indisputably. Yet we cling to our central claim that the United States was not the primary victor over the German devils in the Second World War. The Soviet Union was. The United States performed a substantial role, beyond question. Yet it was not the central role. We remind you that the Russians inflicted some 80% of all Kraut casualties. Yet a nation requires its myths. Washington could not say a fib, the Civil War was a crusade against slavery, the Statue of Liberty is a totem to immigration. To these we must add the myth that the United States chiefly triumphed over the hated and hideous Hun. And that its central purpose was to defend democracy. Thus yesterday Hillary Clinton X-ed, tweeted, what have you: Eighty years ago today, thousands of brave Americans fought to protect democracy on the shores of Normandy. Did a single marauder leap from a landing craft that day with democracy on his mind? Did a single paratrooper yell “Democracy!” when humping out the plane? Or did he shout “Geronimo!” We hazard the bulking majority of those “brave Americans” who “fought to protect democracy on the shores of Normandy” represented the very deplorables who Ms. Clinton assailed in 2016. They were overwhelmingly Caucasian, rural and in many instances Southern. They likely held racial beliefs that were not… progressive. Only in the 1960s was Jim Crow chased into exile. And the United States Army of the Second World War was a segregated institution. Many of these democracy zealots were likewise against homosexuality, crossdressing and transgenderism — if they were even aware of it. Toxic masculinity was amok. "Here's What We're Fighting For," read a September 1944 Stars and Stripes headline above a photo of excited French women. The caption read: "The French are nuts about the Yanks." And not all American personnel were… gentlemanly. “Our men had to disguise themselves under the Germans,” said a Normandy resident. “But when the Americans came, we had to hide the women.” A Le Havre cafe proprietor claimed: We expected friends who would not make us ashamed of our defeat. Instead, there came incomprehension, arrogance, incredibly bad manners and the swagger of conquerors. One resident of that village dispatched a sharp note to its mayor. It read that he and his fellow residents were: Attacked, robbed, run over both on the street and in our houses. This is a regime of terror, imposed by bandits in uniform. The researches of historian Mary Louise Roberts reveal that the sexual incentive was promoted "to motivate American soldiers." More from whom: Sex, and I mean prostitution and rape, was a way for Americans to show domination over France, dominating French men, as they had been unable to protect their country and their women from the Germans. Ms. Roberts reports that soldiers of the United States Army potentially executed thousands of rapes in France. One hundred fifty-two Americans faced military trial for rape, 1944–45. Twenty-nine were sentenced to the gallows. This Roberts gentlelady even authored a book bearing the title What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France. About which: People were angry at my book because they didn't want to lose this ideal of the good war, of the good GI. Even if it means we have to keep on lying. We do not intend to assault the reputation of the United States Army. We believe most of its ranks hung their nation’s altar in glory and honor. And boys — as is said — will be boys. Only a limited minority of miscreants did the misdeeds. Yet in the overall, Ms. Clinton would have likely grimaced and bristled in the presence of America’s Normandy invaders. She would have labeled many deplorables. Here is a parallel World War II myth: The Greatest Generation volunteered to fight. Many have seen the photographs of recruitment queues stretching around street corners following the Japanese sucker punch of Dec. 7, 1941. They existed. Yet 66% of World War II American service personnel were conscripts. The Vietnam War — in contrast to World War II — is at times referred to as a “conscript war.” American youths were plucked wholesale from the farms and factories and packed off… reluctantly… to the jungles. Yet a mere 25% of Vietnam War wagers were conscripts; 75% raised their hand, stepped forth and volunteered to go. Again: Uncle Samuel tapped 66% of Second World War personnel upon the shoulder. Only 34% went willingly. Again: We do not intend to stomp upon the heroism, honor and sacrifices the vast majority of these men put forth. They are worthy of hosannas. We merely seek to confront sacrosanct myths, to unhorse pieties — even if offensive to some. Below, retired naval officer Byron King shows you why D-Day should properly be labeled “L”-Day. Why “L”-Day? Read on for the answer… Regards, [Brian Maher] Brian Maher Managing Editor, The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Editor’s note: Last night AI wiz James Altucher went live to discuss [Apple’s big 10X AI Announcement.]( Did you catch it? Here’s the deal: On Monday, June 10, Apple is expected to officially announce their very first foray into artificial intelligence. This announcement has higher stakes than the release of the iPod… the MacBook… even the iPhone. That’s because it has the potential to send [one tiny AI stock soaring 1,000% over the next 12 months.]( Or even 10,000% higher over the next decade. Those in attendance last night are now some of the only people prepared to target a life-changing gain this coming Monday. But James understands that life gets busy and you might have missed last evening’s urgent announcement. That’s why we recorded this event. You can watch the replay now: [Click here or on the image below.]( [click here to play]( [The Tiny Company That Could Dwarf Apple’s Returns]( Monday, June 10, at 1 p.m. ET, Apple is going to make an “exciting reveal.” Almost everyone expects it to be the long-awaited release of the AiPhone. Once Tim Cook announces the AiPhone, one tiny AI stock could take off on a 10x rally over the next 12 months. That’s why Silicon Valley insider James Altucher has put together this presentation with everything you need to know about getting into position before Apple’s big announcement. [Get all the details of the AiPhone and the stock James predicts will rally 10x off its back right here.]( [Click Here Now]( The Daily Reckoning Presents: Amateurs talk about strategy, professionals talk about logistics… ****************************** “L”- Day By Byron King [Byron King] BYRON KING I suspect you thought that June 6, 1944, was D-Day, when U.S.-British-Canadian and other Allies invaded Normandy, France, eighty years ago today. Yes, I know that the event is called D-Day, but for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, let’s go with the letter “L.” Bear with me… Who Put the “D” in D-Day? D-Day is a confusing label. There’s no correct explanation for the letter “D,” not now nor back on June 6, 1944. In fact, in 1964, not quite twenty years after the end of the Second World War, an interviewer asked retired General and former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower what the D meant. Ike tilted his head, thought for a moment, and wasn’t exactly sure, but it might represent “departure day” when troops kicked off toward the beaches. [image 1] General Eisenhower and airborne troops, June 5, 1944. U.S. National Archives. This brings me back to calling the event “L-Day” because the landings were very much about logistics — mostly about logistics, truthfully. Or, as Admiral Ernest King (no relation), Chief of Naval Operations for most of World War II, once quipped, “I don’t know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is, that [General George] Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.” As an editorial point of privilege, I’ll mention my long-departed father, Homer King, who served as an Army combat pilot and flew ground attack missions during the June 6 landings. At one point, he piloted his heavily damaged P-47 fighter-bomber back to England, shot full of holes and leaking fuel. He landed and traded his bird in for another one without all the unintended air conditioning. Then he flew back to France. Much later, and somewhat to his surprise, he was called into the colonel’s office to receive a Distinguished Flying Cross. [image 2] “For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.” U.S. Department of Defense. Depending on your age and origins, perhaps you, too, had a father or grandfather, uncle, etc. (and yes, more than a few women in uniform) who participated in the fight in Europe, 1941 – 45. Perhaps your relatives served in the Pacific Theater or some other front across the globe. Or they remained home in the U.S., possibly working at a defense plant. Or maybe it’s none of the above, and don’t worry 'cuz it’s all good. June 6 is your day, too. Sadly, we live in an era when history is poorly taught in most schools and generally unappreciated across our culture. And if the cultural elite shuns any field of history, it’s military history. Just try to find a decent university program in military history at any U.S., Canadian, or British university (hint: good luck; you’ll be laughed out of the faculty lounge at most schools if you say you want to work in military history). Meanwhile, if you want to be underwhelmed, walk through a college campus and ask 19- and 20-year-olds about World War II. To the extent that large numbers of people know much at all about June 6 and D-Day (or L-Day, as I’ll expand in a moment), it’s from movies like Saving Private Ryan (1998) or The Longest Day (1962); or perhaps the television series Band of Brothers (2001). Okay, pilgrims… I’ll take some knowledge of the war over none at all. However, the problem with what you see in movies is that there are a lot of action scenes with soldiers hitting the beach or parachuting from airplanes. They land on the sand, rifle in hand, taking fire from enemy machine guns and artillery. They run up hills, blast away, toss hand grenades, capture pillboxes, and mow down the other side’s soldiers. [Ex-CIA Insider: “Prepare for Election Meltdown”]( [Click here for more...]( After correctly predicting the Great Recession of 2008, Trump’s 2016 Election and the Covid Crisis of 2020… Former advisor to the CIA, the Pentagon and the White House Jim Rickards… Is now warning everyday patriots like you to prepare for a historic election meltdown. Learn the five steps you need to take because things are about to get ugly. [Click Here ASAP]( As it all unfolds, one sees the Hollywood human side, with soldierly bonding, everyone looking out for their buddies, people being wounded and killed, and survivors living to fight another day. Which is to say, learning “history” from watching movies is quite misleading. Because whatever they show on the screen, everything about fighting a war comes back to logistics. Gimme the Fuel, Ammunition and Supplies Consider this: How much gear do you think a typical soldier carries when he jumps out of an airplane or when the landing craft's ramp drops down? Forty pounds? 50? 75? How much ammunition can anyone carry? How many rounds? How many hand grenades? What about troops who haul machine guns or mortars? Crew-served weapons weigh more than you think, as do the rounds they fire. What about medical supplies? Or radios and batteries? Fresh water? And maybe some food? Plus, say, a small shovel, and maybe a rain poncho. And… you get the idea, right? Here’s the point. When Tom Hanks and his troops hit the beach in Saving Private Ryan and then humped through minefields and across the dunes, dodging bullets and shrapnel, every one of them had a combat-service life of about an hour, likely less. Because in a very short time span, they would have fired all their ammunition, tossed the grenades, used up the medical supplies, and (as the movie showed) the radio would be shot through. And then what? Well… If it’s you in the dirt, hunkering undercover, you better have some of that “logistics” thing backing you up. That is, after the first boats hit the beach and land troops, the next wave had better be right behind, hauling more troops to replace casualties and a lot of useful supplies, all staged for fast extraction and movement across open fields of fire. More rifle rounds, grenades, mortar shells, ammo belts for machine guns, medical supplies, and people to treat and evacuate the wounded. Then comes engineering equipment like mine clearance devices and armored bulldozers to dig out firing positions. Plus, mobile field artillery and ammunition, along with gun crews and repair kits for when things break, because they always break. And then, in other landing craft, not far behind that second or third wave, you require armored equipment like tanks and personnel carriers, hauling fuel (lots!), ammunition, communication gear, and much more. Of course, to accomplish the overall mission, the U.S. had to build entire fleets — over ten thousand — of cargo ships and landing craft, along with enough equipment to stage and wage a land war across northern Europe. This illustrates how logistics reflects a nation’s industrial power; stated another way, military power is the first derivative of a nation’s energy base and industrial system. If you want ships, you need steel and machinery. But if you allocate steel and machinery to build ships, then the metal and equipment will not go into tanks or trucks. Plus, you need everything else that goes into ships, ranging from propellers to anchor chains, plus trained crews that take time to recruit and assemble. The immediate takeaway is to recall and honor the bravery of soldiers and sailors past and the brilliance of planners who put Operation Overlord together. That, and understanding that nothing big, complex, and important happens absent immense levels of thought and attention to detail; it could not happen back then and does not happen today. Which is to say, bone up on your logistics. Regards, Byron King for The Daily Reckoning [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) Ed. note: Last night AI wiz James Altucher went live to discuss [Apple’s big 10X AI Announcement.]( Did you catch it? Here’s the deal: On Monday, June 10, Apple is expected to officially announce their very first foray into artificial intelligence. This announcement has higher stakes than the release of the iPod… the MacBook… even the iPhone. That’s because it has the potential to send [one tiny AI stock soaring 1,000% over the next 12 months.]( Or even 10,000% higher over the next decade. Those in attendance last night are now some of the only people prepared to target a life-changing gain this coming Monday. But James understands that life gets busy and you might have missed last evening’s urgent announcement. That’s why we recorded this event. You can watch the replay now: [Click here or on the image below.]( [click here to play]( Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com) [Brian Maher] [Brian Maher]( is the Daily Reckoning's Managing Editor. Before signing on to Agora Financial, he was an independent researcher and writer who covered economics, politics and international affairs. His work has appeared in the Asia Times and other news outlets around the world. He holds a Master's degree in Defense & Strategic Studies. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Byron King] [Byron King]( is a Harvard-trained geologist who has traveled to every U.S. state and territory and six of the seven continents. He has been interviewed by dozens of major print and broadcast media outlets including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, MSN Money, MarketWatch, Fox Business News, and PBS Newshour. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your The Daily Reckoning e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from The Daily Reckoning, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. 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