Great comment thread
Mar. 3rd, 2004 10:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
libertangoBrad deLong had a post kvetching about the naming of the aircraft carriers USS John C. Stennis and USS Carl Vinson. He quotes Gregg Easterbrook at The New Republic:
"The leading accomplishment of these two gentlemen was that they never once said the word "no" to the Pentagon on any budget request. Carl Vinson and John Stennis were not presidents, war heroes, great leaders, or inspirational figures. They chaired the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate and were rubber stamps for appropriations; now each has a carrier named after him. Vinson and Stennis were perfectly respectable members of Congress, and being a member of the people's legislature is an admirable thing. But thousands of men and women were perfectly respectable members of Congress and don't have ships named after them. Only the Armed Services Committee chairmen have ships named after them. It's unseemly."
It's not a bad point. But the comment thread has some real gems in it:
*^*^*
"Hyman Rickover said it best, when asked why the Navy stopped naming submarines after fish: "Fish don't vote.""
*^*^*
Said one poster: "I believe we should follow the trend in modern stadia and bowl game naming and have sponsored carriers."
Great, I love that idea.
How about USS George W. Bush (sponsored by Enron)?
*^*^*
The revolutionary French navy had a ship of the line called the Droits de l'Homme, and the Greek flagships at Salamis were called Demokratia, Eleutheria (Freedom) and Parrhesia (Free Speech). This might be an interesting angle to take:
USS Free Speech
USS Freedom of Worship
USS Right to Bear Arms
USS Right of Assembly
er...
USS Right to Be Secure Against Unreasonable Search
USS Equal Protection
And of course
USS Alcohol! (formerly USS Volstead)
*^*^*
My favourite anecdotes about British ship names both come from Churchill's time as First Sea Lord, when the first dreadnaughts were being built. King George V, who had spent most of his pre-regnal life in the navy, vetoed Churchill's rather disingenous suggestion of Cromwell for what should hopefully be obvious reasons (despite Churchill submitting the name at least twice), and also vetoed Pitt, knowing something of what Churchill called 'reasons unbefitting the royal dignity'...
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Hal again -- like I say, great stuff.
"The leading accomplishment of these two gentlemen was that they never once said the word "no" to the Pentagon on any budget request. Carl Vinson and John Stennis were not presidents, war heroes, great leaders, or inspirational figures. They chaired the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate and were rubber stamps for appropriations; now each has a carrier named after him. Vinson and Stennis were perfectly respectable members of Congress, and being a member of the people's legislature is an admirable thing. But thousands of men and women were perfectly respectable members of Congress and don't have ships named after them. Only the Armed Services Committee chairmen have ships named after them. It's unseemly."
It's not a bad point. But the comment thread has some real gems in it:
*^*^*
"Hyman Rickover said it best, when asked why the Navy stopped naming submarines after fish: "Fish don't vote.""
*^*^*
Said one poster: "I believe we should follow the trend in modern stadia and bowl game naming and have sponsored carriers."
Great, I love that idea.
How about USS George W. Bush (sponsored by Enron)?
*^*^*
The revolutionary French navy had a ship of the line called the Droits de l'Homme, and the Greek flagships at Salamis were called Demokratia, Eleutheria (Freedom) and Parrhesia (Free Speech). This might be an interesting angle to take:
USS Free Speech
USS Freedom of Worship
USS Right to Bear Arms
USS Right of Assembly
er...
USS Right to Be Secure Against Unreasonable Search
USS Equal Protection
And of course
USS Alcohol! (formerly USS Volstead)
*^*^*
My favourite anecdotes about British ship names both come from Churchill's time as First Sea Lord, when the first dreadnaughts were being built. King George V, who had spent most of his pre-regnal life in the navy, vetoed Churchill's rather disingenous suggestion of Cromwell for what should hopefully be obvious reasons (despite Churchill submitting the name at least twice), and also vetoed Pitt, knowing something of what Churchill called 'reasons unbefitting the royal dignity'...
*^*^*
Hal again -- like I say, great stuff.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-03 11:52 pm (UTC)Mostly I really don't like Churchill. But once a while this kind of anecdote comes up and I die laughing. God, I love a politician with a sense of humour.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-04 09:07 am (UTC)http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~and1000/banks/ships.html