Gargamel was super obsessed with destroying the Smurfs and dedicated his whole life to this for pretty much no known reason. I've read that when it started out he thought he could turn them into gold, but that was not particularly clear on the show, where it seemed like he was just a crotchety evil wizard guy who had become completely obsessed with some tiny Smurf people who weren't even bothering him. (Except for Sassy Smurf, who bothered everyone)
Even Barry Goldwater got on board for gays serving openly in the military. He said "I don't care if they are straight, as long as they can shoot straight".
Joining the military sure beats hanging around Dogpatch, where the options for career work died after the t-shirt factory left town; especially, if you're a 'c' student. US politicians treat the military as a de facto jobs program.
I have at least 10 million conservatives quaking in their fucking Blahniks (they're not stylish enough to wear boots like an uncommon Martini Glambassador) that I, one single lone trans person, might enter a single bathroom, unarmed, by myself.
The idea that I could have that power but Putin would NOT be afraid of an entire army of trannies with Hellfire missiles and main battle tanks is simply not credible.
Beware the Transsexual Menace: the most terrifying army ever conceived and/or constructed because we are not taking a side in this nature/nurture debate.
You are correct. But oddly, the military was first to outlaw segregation in 1948 (or at least made the effort) and the RWNJs all wax nostalgic for the 1950s. More for the fact that they didn't have to see the "coloreds" on their TVs rather than nascent reckoning with racism I am sure.
Yes. They desegregated sooner than the rest of the US, and it worked pretty well to provide (male) racial minorities training, experience, and networking that they might not have otherwise had.
Basically a small percentage of the armed forces is in the "killing people" section. The rest of the force is there to move massive amounts of material and men to places where they can kill people. Those jobs don't need macho men, they need competent workers - just like any other industry.
So those buffoons who think that every soldier needs to be a deadly killer fail to appreciate what Hitler didn't learn - an army without supplies is basically a group of killers that will be whittled down until they are gone, the loss of the Sixth Army Group at Stalingrad was the result of not having the ability to supply them with fresh soldiers, food, horses and ammo.
Treating your supply sergeant with respect and courtesy means that when you are in the field getting shot at she will do her level best to make sure you have what you need. "Woke" is a canard that might get you elected in certain backward parts of the country, but it don't mean squat when the world is on fire.
And as the assholes who set the budget on fire are the ones decrying the debt I say Eat the Rich.
Not trying to undercut your post, but I'd be curious to know how many of the officer corps are field officers vs. bureaucratic types sitting stateside or behind the lines. As the technology has become more complicated and soldiers are now "platforms" for weapons systems it may be that the sheer complexity of what they are doing requires more oversight in the field.
But if the military is like any corporation now days I'm sure that they have loaded up with middle management.
Far FAR be it from me to say our military (and that included me, for 28 years) doesn’t spend way too much money on stupid shit, and still has plenty of systemic cultural problems. But I will point out a couple things. First off, using a study at the VIRGINIA Military Institute, a bastion of good-old-boy conservatism, as evidence of said problems is not very convincing. Not that they aren’t there, but that’s looking at the worst of the worst cases. Secondly, after almost three decades in the military, spread over almost a 40 year span, I can say without a doubt that we have improved radically in addressing racism, sexism, classism and what have you. Nobody is perfect, and there are undoubtedly still many people with very bad attitudes. But they tend to be aging out of the force, and the people replacing them tend to be much more “woke,” in the good way before it became an insult. Which means that, if nothing else, nobody can just get away with that sort of behavior any more, whether they like it or not - they will be called out, and they will (generally) feel the pain. Sometimes not, because the Flyboy Mafia still protects its own. But mostly they will. So, progress.
That said? We could still kick the asses of every military in the world. Literally the only reason we don’t just schwack Putin’s little boys on their little peepees is that he’s a psychopath with control of nukes. So we still need use our smarts and temper our actions.
Ta, Robyn. Beautifully said. Just a tiny bit surprised you made no mention of Xtian Dominionism, which is at its worst in the Air Force.
Gargamel was super obsessed with destroying the Smurfs and dedicated his whole life to this for pretty much no known reason. I've read that when it started out he thought he could turn them into gold, but that was not particularly clear on the show, where it seemed like he was just a crotchety evil wizard guy who had become completely obsessed with some tiny Smurf people who weren't even bothering him. (Except for Sassy Smurf, who bothered everyone)
Even Barry Goldwater got on board for gays serving openly in the military. He said "I don't care if they are straight, as long as they can shoot straight".
Joining the military sure beats hanging around Dogpatch, where the options for career work died after the t-shirt factory left town; especially, if you're a 'c' student. US politicians treat the military as a de facto jobs program.
Late to the party, but let me just say:
I have at least 10 million conservatives quaking in their fucking Blahniks (they're not stylish enough to wear boots like an uncommon Martini Glambassador) that I, one single lone trans person, might enter a single bathroom, unarmed, by myself.
The idea that I could have that power but Putin would NOT be afraid of an entire army of trannies with Hellfire missiles and main battle tanks is simply not credible.
Beware the Transsexual Menace: the most terrifying army ever conceived and/or constructed because we are not taking a side in this nature/nurture debate.
You are correct. But oddly, the military was first to outlaw segregation in 1948 (or at least made the effort) and the RWNJs all wax nostalgic for the 1950s. More for the fact that they didn't have to see the "coloreds" on their TVs rather than nascent reckoning with racism I am sure.
Somehow the USMC made it through WWII without a single four star general until the very end. Today, they have fourteen of them
Yes. They desegregated sooner than the rest of the US, and it worked pretty well to provide (male) racial minorities training, experience, and networking that they might not have otherwise had.
WoW!
I think a great many in that demographic would be much more willing to kill for their country than die for it.
I prefer the term "drug afficionado".
Basically a small percentage of the armed forces is in the "killing people" section. The rest of the force is there to move massive amounts of material and men to places where they can kill people. Those jobs don't need macho men, they need competent workers - just like any other industry.
So those buffoons who think that every soldier needs to be a deadly killer fail to appreciate what Hitler didn't learn - an army without supplies is basically a group of killers that will be whittled down until they are gone, the loss of the Sixth Army Group at Stalingrad was the result of not having the ability to supply them with fresh soldiers, food, horses and ammo.
Treating your supply sergeant with respect and courtesy means that when you are in the field getting shot at she will do her level best to make sure you have what you need. "Woke" is a canard that might get you elected in certain backward parts of the country, but it don't mean squat when the world is on fire.
And as the assholes who set the budget on fire are the ones decrying the debt I say Eat the Rich.
Not trying to undercut your post, but I'd be curious to know how many of the officer corps are field officers vs. bureaucratic types sitting stateside or behind the lines. As the technology has become more complicated and soldiers are now "platforms" for weapons systems it may be that the sheer complexity of what they are doing requires more oversight in the field.
But if the military is like any corporation now days I'm sure that they have loaded up with middle management.
She does. She sent emails containing only a photo of her glaring at the camera and that sent them running with their tails between their legs.
It's a similar concept to 'antifa' ... Because words don't matter anymore 🤦♀️
Far FAR be it from me to say our military (and that included me, for 28 years) doesn’t spend way too much money on stupid shit, and still has plenty of systemic cultural problems. But I will point out a couple things. First off, using a study at the VIRGINIA Military Institute, a bastion of good-old-boy conservatism, as evidence of said problems is not very convincing. Not that they aren’t there, but that’s looking at the worst of the worst cases. Secondly, after almost three decades in the military, spread over almost a 40 year span, I can say without a doubt that we have improved radically in addressing racism, sexism, classism and what have you. Nobody is perfect, and there are undoubtedly still many people with very bad attitudes. But they tend to be aging out of the force, and the people replacing them tend to be much more “woke,” in the good way before it became an insult. Which means that, if nothing else, nobody can just get away with that sort of behavior any more, whether they like it or not - they will be called out, and they will (generally) feel the pain. Sometimes not, because the Flyboy Mafia still protects its own. But mostly they will. So, progress.
That said? We could still kick the asses of every military in the world. Literally the only reason we don’t just schwack Putin’s little boys on their little peepees is that he’s a psychopath with control of nukes. So we still need use our smarts and temper our actions.