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Cliff W. Gilmore

@cliffwgilmore.bsky.social

1K followers 1.3K following 3.1K posts

Apartisan husband, adoptive father of two, grandfather, honorably retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, COO, PhD of organization and management with a leadership specialization, reader, writer, occasional actor, board game collector, dog & cat person.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · Jul 13

I am a retired Marine officer who swore an oath to support & defend the Constitution, not to a person or party, & who understands that an order against the “…and domestic” part of “against all enemies, foreign and…” is one of the most morally challenging orders a U.S. military member could receive.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 31m

Hahahahaha!!! I stereotyped myself so hard with the typos in that post. Phoooooo…

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 51m

I broke the silence with, “Sorry. That got dark quick. I feel like I should tip by way of apology for ruining your morning.”

They said cheerily, “That’s ok! I love learning new things!”

I twitched, tapped my card. Said, “Ok. Well, thank you.”

Naturally, they said, “Of course!”

This timeline sux.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 51m

I kid you not, they said, “We lost that?”

I said, “Well, we chased the Taliban out of Kabul & then 20 years, thousands of lives, and trillions of dollars later we left & they went right back in behind us, so, yeah. That’s what happened.”

Extended pause to the point of awkward.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 51m

Sometimes my admittedly flippant “Wish we coulda won it for you” comment when someone thx me for my service gets weird.

Young person at CFA counter said, “Oh, did we lose a war?”

I said yes.

They said, “Which one?”

I blinked a couple times. Said, “The recent one. The Global War on Terrorism.”

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 1h

Left out a close paren there. Oops.

What a language! :)

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 1h

It is at the very least a self-contradictory narrative.

By which I mean, he’s a lying liar.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 2h

I sea what yew did their.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 2h

This made me happier than the thread about primer vs. primer.

www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nob...

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Maria Corina Machado - Nobel Peace Prize

for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

www.nobelpeaceprize.org

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Dangit. *known

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Or Bob Dylan. :)

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Which raises the interesting point, is a challenging game of Scrabble hard Scrabble? Or hardscrabble Scrabble?

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Oh, dam… So on the money I forgot about the n.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Stumbled upon this & the resulting discussion made my day & I met some really cool people. By which I mean awesome (by which I mean terrific not massive, not calm, collected, or nonchalant (although they may also be that or those).

(@merriam-webster.com, still grumpy about “literally,” though…)

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 17h

Here’s a primer on ‘primer.’

It’s pronounced ‘PRIMM-er’ if you mean “a small book” or “a short informative piece of writing.”

It’s pronounced ‘PRY-mer’ if you mean “an initial coat of paint.”

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

Terrific discussion. Now, about the Oxford comma…

Also, proper use of the ellipsis… Then on to “is” vs. are when preceding “ethics” & maybe an vs. a preceding “honest” & “history/historian.”

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 3h

‘Merica here & I’ve heard is pronounced “primmer” numerous times. Almost always by people with advanced degrees or Americans without advanced ed saying it that way when talking about the can of paint version, because of course. :)

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 10h

Where can I get my “I Voted” sticker?!

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 10h

Who knew Frog and Toad would become our guides to resistance. It pleases me.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

That’s a good stack right there.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

Thank you.

@cwebbonline.com, my sincere apologies if that came off as me hijacking your space to lecture. I doubt I was saying anything you haven’t know for a long long time.

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

I was so fortunate to capture that image. Another favorite is when she saw Orcas breach for her first time. I’d seen it before, & it’s beautiful. But I’d never seen HER see it for the first time, so was looking the right direction.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

Even — especially — at risk to ourselves against the white supremacist fascists who are so afraid of becoming the minority because they assume how they treat “minorities” is how they’ll be treated as their control slips away.

Hard days comin’.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

Following the news IS too depressing. Following the information however is essential. Documented facts of record are key. Speeches, EOs, voting records, real time visuals of Portland, Chicago, LA from verifiable sources.

People who look like me in particular need to be informed & willing to act.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

You are welcome. Sorry we couldn’t win it for you. Was a lot of blood, treasure and time to go from Point A to Point A and now find ourselves here. Alas…

Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

Also: I like your style, @anitmata.bsky.social. Pleasedtameetcha.

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Cliff W. Gilmore @cliffwgilmore.bsky.social · 11h

I’m fond of, “It’s impossible to not communicate. Everything we say and do communicates something to somebody somewhere. Yet while we can now communicate at/to the entire world at the speed of Send, our capacity to communicate WITH people remains the same.”

Also, can doesn’t mean should. :)