The Path of Least Resistance

General George Patton and General Omar Bradley. At the start of World War II, Bradley was a subordinate to Patton, both in experience and in rank. Yet by 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower had selected Bradley over Patton to lead the invasion of Northern Europe. What caused this shift of power?

Believe it or not, two separate incidents were the catalyst for Patton's reduction of responsibilities during the middle of WWII. To understand the motivation behind Patton's actions, let's revisit a directive that he issued to the Seventh Army, "It has come to my attention that a very small number of soldiers are going to the hospital on the pretext that they are nervously incapable of combat. Such men are cowards and bring discredit on the army and disgrace to their comrades, whom they heartlessly leave to endure the dangers of battle while they, themselves, use the hospital as a means of escape. You will take measures to see that such cases are not sent to the hospital but dealt with in their units. Those who are not willing to fight will be tried by court martial for cowardice in the face of the enemy." General George S. Patton - August 5th, 1943

My 5 Favorite Movies

Top 5 Favorite Movies. Note: The benchmark I used to determine this list is the re-watchable factor. All of these movies I can watch over and over and over. So without further ado . . .

1) Patton - Best war movie of the most interesting American general (In my opinion) in history. George C. Scott was awesome in the role of Patton and the music was awe inspiring. The shots placed you right in the middle of WWII and didn't shy away from the brutality of war. If you have 3 hours, well, 2 hours and 52 minutes, this is the movie I'd pick.

2) Sneakers - Widely panned during its release over 25 years ago its surprising how well this movie has held up over time. But its really the cast that elevates this movie. Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Akroyd, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix and Ben Kingsley highlight this team of security intrusion experts. The writers (who wrote the movie "War Games" a decade earlier) do a great job with the MacGuffin, the magic codebreaking "Setec Astronomy" box. Highly recommended.

The Man Who Called Down Fire

One of my favorite parts of playing D&D was facing dragons. When you and your band encountered a dragon this was always an awe-inspiring collective moment, I mean, what can you hope to do against a creature that can breathe fire?

God has used fire throughout history to execute his wrath against sinful people. In fact, the Bible records at least six times where God sent fire from heaven. One of the most famous times was in His judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah. After allowing Lot and his family to be rescued, God sent fire from the heavens to devour these cities. But did you know there is a story in the Bible where a man called down fire from the heavens?

The Losing Side Who Re-Wrote History

There are few instances in history where the loser of a war ends up writing the legacy of that conflict. The hurdles are almost insurmountable which would allow the romanticizing of the loser but we have one such example right here in the United States.

When I was young we would often play war in the woods behind our house. The opposing forces never changed, it was either Cowboys versus Indians or the North versus the South. If you were assigned to either be a Cowboy or an Indian it wasn't such a big deal. But to have to fight on the side of the North took a lot of convincing and I can't remember how many times when whoever was picked for the north left to go home rather than fight for the Yankees.