Just to be clear. The executive order related to flag burning is an intimidation tactic targeting protest. Burning the US flag in protest is not ‘fighting words’ it’s a first amendment right.
Just to be clear. The executive order related to flag burning is an intimidation tactic targeting protest. Burning the US flag in protest is not ‘fighting words’ it’s a first amendment right.
I find it interesting that we ‘don’t know how LLMs work’ but boy do we have no problem making them racist.
Continuing the process of getting minis painted. Italian mercenaries coming along.
Hegseth assumes because he wasn’t in a signal group about it that it must be super secret squirrel secret.
2. Iran does not have the capability to match the US or US assets. It cannot effectively wage war against the US and Israel.
3. Iran’s allies don’t have the capacity either. Russia is mired in Ukraine, China is still gearing up to expand its sphere of influence and the other Middle Eastern states are not particularly cohesive.
4. Finally it is important to remember that your friends, the mainstream news, pundits, and politicians as a whole are not military savvy. Don’t panic.
3. Iran’s allies don’t have the capacity either. Russia is mired in Ukraine, China is still gearing up to expand its sphere of influence and the other Middle Eastern states are not particularly cohesive.
4. Finally it is important to remember that your friends, the mainstream news, pundits, and politicians as a whole are not military savvy. Don’t panic.
3. Iran’s allies don’t have the capacity either. Russia is mired in Ukraine, China is still gearing up to expand its sphere of influence and the other Middle Eastern states are not particularly cohesive.
2. Iran does not have the capability to match the US or US assets. It cannot effectively wage war against the US and Israel.
Something different. Hobby has been slow and I’m happy to have gotten some painting and basing done today.
This is why they flip flop so much on opposing/ supporting trump and every other issue. They don’t actually have a position. They have a revenue stream, and being horrible keeps it flowing.
The right, as far as their media presence, is entirely ideologically disingenuous. They don’t believe what they are saying, and admit as much in private. They continue to parrot these ideas because they believe: 1. This will make them money 2. They will be spared from the repercussions.
There’s just no way to tell the ideology of this violent individual whose description, background, and actions match all the other violent individuals from the last decade. 🙃
Soldiers are just people. The majority of whom go to the field rarely, march rarely, handle their weapon rarely, and endure hardship only when absolutely required. Their performance probably has little to do with their feelings about the president and more to do with the conditions around them.
Then you have the rehearsals, the uniform inspections, heat, hunger, and size of the parade group. All of which combines until one person gets off and steps wrong, then another and so on till the whole things a gaggle.
This is the much more likely explanation than any kind of deliberate mass protest. Soldiers don’t actually do much parading. Most mass celebrate so and so’s retirement or promotion type events are static and pass and review type marches are rare outside of training.
This exactly. Looks at all the bases in Iraq that constantly eat the response to Israel’s actions.
A reminder that continuing resolutions are not a passed budget and the very reason the Republicans have to keep begging for Dems to cross the aisle on this. Because the course of action guarantees that the budget ‘crisis’ will resurface every few months.
Well you know what this means. Someone has to send him more.
I don’t think the one contract tour guide knows what a legal review is…
Mercenaries and their Masters- Michael Mallett
I want to point out the obvious. No executive action has removed the Equal Opportunity program from being official policy. This is a violation of EO. Violating Army EO policy is punishable under UCMJ. Reports of EO violations can be made anonymously.
I’m 90% sure this is a violation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Alliance now USMCA. Tariffing two of our largest trade partners is insane. Especially since violating this agreement undoes trump’s own renegotiation.
I can agree that the proper action by congress is to file the articles. Every time. Mire the legislature. trump is uninterested in passing policy, only in unilateral proclamations. They have nothing better to do than make elected republicans look like idiots.
The alternates lack the political grip and messianic status. People don’t care about Vance, or Johnson or any of the rest of them. They only have popularity in relationship to direct proximity to trump. No one cares about the apostle if there isn’t a messiah.
Website is back up. Whitehouse is blaming an ‘outage’. 🙄
Don’t you just hate when pesky world building gets in the way of the good bits?
Standing corrected on the spelling. I did a quick google, as one does. I see a new executive order from 27 January 2025, offers what you previously described. A full restoration to rank and back pay. It remains to be seen who might take that offer.
To my knowledge, reinstatements are not happening, or are not happening cart blanc and due to negative experience with the military would not represent significant numbers of people.
Most of the personnel lost to refusals to take the vaccine were already eligible to reenlist and many of those who may become eligible do not wish to rejoin the military. The numbers rejoining won’t make up for the manpower losses that may come of the new administration’s policy.
The cruelty is the point.
They stand only for whatever Trump says.
You’re all about to be gaslit about that Nazi salute and I’m begging you to spend no time on it. You know what you saw.
And that has been a GOOD thing for America. Because it builds partnerships and economic growth for us. The problem comes when you shit on your allies and prove yourself unreliable to do that job.
The thing is America is already the world’s police. The US military is on bases across the globe protecting American interests abroad. Namely, keeping trade lanes open and discouraging aggression by state actors.
I just had this thought. Like this is what gets him? He’s a bad drunk? That’s the standard apparently.
I feel like this is the plot of a SAW movie…
And we are back. This time with an article on Hegseth’s past issues with Alcohol. It’s interesting to me that this is the latch on point. As opposed to anything else that can be said about him.
Georgia recently got rid of its panel that tracked these deaths.
It is a shame I can’t like this absolutely excellent take more than once.
There is this assumption they make that all of them will be granted exceptions. Because they are such ‘good’ and ‘deserving’ people.
Absolutely correct take.
Say it louder for the people in the back.👏
Fair enough, fair enough.
Yes absolutely. Here ‘efficient’ is being used to mean fast and cheap, but unreliable and prone to causing harm. Because they are treating it like the goal is to make money. When it’s not. The goal is to provide public good.
Another Monday another piece of critical reporting in the Stars and Stripes. IVF is set to be added to Tricare coverage, assuming it can overcome GOP opposition. Fertility issues disproportionately affect the military.
We were repeatedly warned that elements of the incoming administration and their leadership don’t want the circus to end.
So while this is currently a deeply unserious PAC, it’s worth mentioning that this is exactly the sort of stunt we were getting warned against ahead of the election. There are people in this country who do not want the circus to ever ever stop.
Now come on. When has pursuing exclusively short turn profit with no regard to long term stability EVER turned out badly for everyone?
The government is not a for profit business. It does not need to be ‘efficient’. It needs to be functional and resilient. 🤦♂️
Taking bets on top contributors… *drum roll* will it be: 1. Russia 2. Saudia Arabia 3. A cabal of American Billionaires
Just a quick run down on all the crossed red lines I saw on my nightly doom scroll. bsky.app/profile/real...
A life line like a demilitarized zone and a promise not to pursue membership with NATO. 🤦♂️
Chaos is the point. Spot on.
I find it curious that the same people saying these are just ‘normal ideas’ 1. Also haven’t read it. 2. Don’t want you to read it.
We can add sanctions to the list of things MAGA doesn’t understand the function/mechanics of. Right along with tariffs.
True. The third option does exist. Russia loses and ceases to have any international credibility to spend for decades.
Russia will continue to drag the war out until they either: a. Exhaust western support for Ukraine. b. Reach a point where they can claim success to the Russian people. Everything else is just in service to that delay, so saber rattling, escalating use of arms, asymmetric attacks to distract etc.
The risk of nukes is basically zero. Countries tend to want to keep being countries. Using nuclear warheads in Ukraine prompts an unsurvivable response from the rest of the world. As does using nukes against any NATO member.
The implication here is that his ‘mandate’ was to appoint exactly these kind of unqualified, scandal ridden people.
Cabinet picks were all the news that is news in Friday’s edition of the Stars and Stripes. Top: Hegseth believed allegations would get him fired from Fox Bottom right: Gaetz’s withdrawal Bottom Left: The list of Project 2025 contributors set to have a seat is growing.
The wildness of AG can’t take positions contrary to the legislature. What a short sighted rule. 🤦♂️
Serious Groundhog Day vibes.
I really enjoyed both of these films. 👍
Your good. I’m glad to get reposted like this. I just wanted to add context. Which I know is hard with so few characters.
To take a second to wrap up this thought. These sorts of old archetypes model a masculinity that is not based in proving oneself to others and is focused on external goals and good over personal advantage and power over others. Not saying they don’t have issues, or that they are perfect models.
Namely, that some of the old ideas on how men aught to behave, still have aspirational qualities that men can look up to for guidance and how those qualities make them BETTER fits for social situations. Ie alleviate loneliness, isolation and unfulfilled expectations.
So I want to take a second to elaborate on my earlier post, because I don’t want to be misconstrued. It’s not about reverting back to a mythic male archetype, with outdated ideas on society at large. It’s about noting WHY society and men want/would want/should want masculinity in the first place.
An excellent time to point out who we are talking about when the idea of dropping women from combat roles is brought up. Over 4000 women serve in Armor, Infantry and Artillery, not to mention police, and aviation.
For the next time someone needs the facts about why the billionaire tech ‘genius’ is actually a fraud. This channel has been covering it for years. youtube.com/@thunderf00t...
Exactly. The allure of the Manosphere is rooted in HOW do we apply masculine desires to protect, serve and express. What turns it toxic is the idea that we as men need to protect ourselves/ subjugate others, serve ourselves, and express ourselves only in ways that tear others down.
They don’t do things that don’t abide by their principles, don’t do things JUST to get rich or get a girl. And critically, they don’t look down on others who share their ideals, instead forming friendships and bonds based on respect and mutual trust.
You get male characters that stood for strength, but that strength was always for the defense of those who didn’t have strength. The cowboy hero isn’t brash and loud, they say only what needs saying. They stand for a guiding principle and to help others.
If you look back at John Wayne types right, cowboys and the never was Hollywood west.
My two cents on this is pretty straightforward, time to start teaching and modeling ‘traditional’ masculinity again. To start: Protect the innocent and victimized Stand up for morals and ethics Be willing to fight for your beliefs and the rights of others Be courteous, humble and soft spoken.
So. Part of the solution is modeling what masculinity currently is and also what society wants it to be, in a positive light. Until there are behaviors held by people young men can look up to and emulate, they will continue to seek solace in the forms of masculinity available to them.
Judging from his mother calling in to literally ask him to stop lying to people, it’s entirely possible he had a fine childhood. Just became a bad person anyways.
Another article worth a read from the Military Legacy News, Stars and Stripes. The Department of Education needs the funding it has to facilitate critical civil rights enforcement, provide money for schools, and reviewing accreditors.
AOC is right as usual. democrats could get back to calling people weird. Because obsessing over people’s genitals in the bathroom is fucking weird.
Don’t forget obstruct actual work from being done. The GOP doesn’t want to run a government, they want to get paid for throwing tantrums.
I’m pretty sure we got our box set from a Cracker Barrel.
The mega man cartoon that came on color coded disks.
I die a little bit inside every time they say ‘my/our friends across the isle’.
Well birds of a feather and all that….
Ah yes such consistency. Such moral fiber.
The whole movement around Trump has HEAVY golden calf imagery. It all reeks of the Israelites begging for a king and the people choosing Barrabus.
What’s strikes me is that the Jesus as rebel reading is one of the most popular/ well trodden readings of the Bible. Social activism is baked into the Christian worldview. But American Christianity prefers the Jesus as conqueror reading instead. The reading that is explicitly rejected in scripture.
It was never about the economy. That was a helpful justification so people who don’t want to look at their prejudices could support someone who hates the people they hate.
It’s a built up wall. You basically build the first dirt wall to protect while you build the second interior wall. What results is a moat at ground level. Forces an invading force to scale the first wall from ground level, then trap themselves in between the first and second wall.
We should temper happiness about disfunction in the Republican Party. That disfunction is the point and the plan. It will be used to show that government is broken and not worth saving. The soapbox opposition is performance. It serves no purpose other than to distract and claim innocence afterwards.
In case anyone has to deal with people that think Space X or Tesla are at least capable businesses. Check out this channel which has been covering the Musk tech pump and dump for years. youtube.com/@thunderf00t...
From a pure hypothetical. Possibly. His supporters generally show an unwillingness to see the harm he does to them and how he routinely breaks promises. Much like the Afghanistan withdrawal was largely a Trump decision, but the next admin had to follow through and take the blame.
The incoming administration will also take credit for the infrastructure renovation that’s been happening under the Biden and the relative strength of the economy.
Another day. Another excellent article in the Stars and Stripes. I want to highlight picture 2 showing how many people this could affect. Rolling back their inclusion would remove thousands of competent Service members from the jobs they signed up to do. With no immediate replacements inbound.
Another day. Another excellent article in the Stars and Stripes. I want to highlight picture 2 showing how many people this could affect. Rolling back their inclusion would remove thousands of competent Service members from the jobs they signed up to do. With no immediate replacements inbound.
The Codex Compliant Series is a large part of why I did a killteam of Phobos marines in a take on Space Shark 🦈 yellow camo.
Not the most important bit, but a war on domestic soil is a direct breaking of the whole ‘no wars’ campaign promise.
