07/12/2015 archive

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

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July 12 is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 172 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1862, the Medal of Honor is created.

President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a measure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, in the name of Congress, “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.” The previous December, Lincoln had approved a provision creating a U.S. Navy Medal of Valor, which was the basis of the Army Medal of Honor created by Congress in July 1862. The first U.S. Army soldiers to receive what would become the nation’s highest military honor were six members of a Union raiding party who in 1862 penetrated deep into Confederate territory to destroy bridges and railroad tracks between Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia.

History

The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by American soldiers was established by George Washington on August 7, 1782, when he created the Badge of Military Merit, designed to recognize “any singularly meritorious action.” This decoration is America’s first combat award and the second oldest American military decoration of any type, after the Fidelity Medallion.

Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the American Revolutionary War, the concept of a military award for individual gallantry by members of the U.S. armed forces had been established. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a Certificate of Merit was established for soldiers who distinguished themselves in action. The certificate was later granted medal status as the Certificate of Merit Medal.

Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed by Iowa Senator James W. Grimes to Winfield Scott, the Commanding General of the United States Army. Scott did not approve the proposal, but the medal did come into use in the Navy. Senate Bill 82, containing a provision for a “Medal of Honor”, was signed into law (12Stat329) by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was “to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war.” Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles directed the Philadelphia Mint to design the new decoration. Shortly afterward, a resolution of similar wording was introduced on behalf of the Army and was signed into law on July 12, 1862. This measure provided for awarding a Medal of Honor, as the Navy version also came to be called: “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities, during the present insurrection.”

As there were only two medals that could be issued until the World War I including the Purple Heart, the Medal of Honor was sometimes awarded for deeds that would not later merit that distinction. In 1917, when other medals were created for bravery, a recall was requested for 910 Medals of Honor that had been previously issued, but no longer considered that noteworthy. Thereafter, and until the present day, the Medal was awarded for deeds that were considered exceptional.

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

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The Sunday Talking Heads:

This Week with George Stephanopolis: The guests on this Sunday’s “This Week” are: 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina; and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

The roundtable guests are: Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson; Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator Van Jones; ABC News’ Cokie Roberts; and Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren.

Face the Nation: Mr. Dickerson’s guests are: Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (D-OH); Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); and Sen. Tom Cotton (R- AR).

Meet the Press with Chuck Todd: The guests on this Sunday’s “MTP” are: Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC); and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).

The roundtable guests are: Matt Bai, Yahoo! News; Arthur Brooks, President, American Enterprise Institute; Doris Kearns Goodwin, American Biographer; and Maria Hinojosa, host, NPR’s “Latino USA.”

State of the Union with Jake Tapper: Mr. Tapper’s guests are: 2016 Democratic presidential candidate former senator and Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton; 2016 GOP presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s two sons, Alex Walker and Scott Walker, Jr.

  World entering era of global food insecurity with malnutrition and obesity side by side within countries, says leading food expert

  Exclusive: A British team is to examine how factors such as climate change will distort global diets and health

STEVE CONNOR   SCIENCE EDITOR  Sunday 12 July 2015

The world is entering an era of global food insecurity which is already leading to the “double burden” of both obesity and malnutrition occurring side by side within countries and even within the same families, a leading food expert has warned.

It will become increasingly common to see obese parents in some developing countries raising underweight and stunted children because high-calorie food is cheaper and more readily available than the nutritious food needed for healthy growth, said Alan Dangour of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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Today in History

Julius Caesar born; Walter Mondale taps Geraldine Ferraro as the first woman to run on a major party ticket for the White House; Boris Yeltsin quits the Soviet Communist Party; Oscar Hammerstein born.

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