The Global Warming Thread

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by David Harrison, Mar 3, 2016.

  1. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    The senators and congressmen who determine policy
    The US isn't declaring war on the rest of the planet because we put a travel ban on Trump's kids or because we shut down a golf course.

    He'd rant and rave on twitter and then do whatever was necessary to make it go away just like he always does
     
  2. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Oh, the ones who've refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol for nearly two decades :(

    I don't know... his pick for secretary of defence is called "Mad Dog"...

    Dispenser of such nuggets of wisdom as:

    “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”

    and:

    “Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”

    and:

    “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people.”
     
  3. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

  4. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    As David mentioned...I meant left behind scientifically not necessarily politically.
    You can win all the elections you want but if you deny evolution or man made climate change then you aren't exactly in the forefront of the global zeitgeist.
     
  5. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  6. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    It sounds like you're saying those quotes are inconsistent for the job of military general. I rather think they're quite appropriate for a general, particularly a Marine Corps general. And, actually, that's the kind of guy I want in charge of the entire country's military defense.


    The stumbling block for a lot of people I know is the fact of ice ages -- plural. They happened long before people were burning fossil fuels. The planet froze, and then it melted -- and froze again, and melted again.

    And humans had nothing to do with that.

    So now you tell certain people, "Yo, dude, you're making the Earth hot!" and they're like, "Dude, how arrogant are you? The planet was already hot before we made cities. Didn't you hear about the ice ages melting?"

    :shrug: I'm just saying, that's a mental stumbling block for a lot of people.
     
  7. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Can we talk about the clathrate gun hypothesis yet?

    PEW PEW.
     
  8. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    They show completely the opposite kind of attitude that I would want from someone leading troops in fields of operations where the supposed mission is to build trust and make areas secure for the local population to take over governance. It's no wonder the US military has a reputation worldwide for lacking discipline and professionalism.

    That is a terrible idea. They will make decisions that benefit the military, not the country. Part of the whole point of the office is to keep the military under civilian control (not that you're supposed to have a permanent standing army, but Americans are as selective with their constitution as they are with the Bible :rolleyes: ).
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  9. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    I thought we already did? Or maybe it was briefly mentioned and I looked it up... don't remember.
     
  10. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    I'm not of the belief that that's the mission of the Marine Corps. I rather thought that the Marine Corps exists to win battles and make Marines.

    But anyway, that's a fair point with respect to how the Secretary of Defense should see things.

    Dude, you say that like they're two different things! :eek: Benefiting the military is benefiting the country ... but it's not the only way to benefit the country.
     
  11. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Yeah, that sort of naked aggression and imperialism has been working so well for us.

    Should I post the timeline image again? I will. Don't make me.

    Then we should berate them for being stupid. I dream of a world in which being stupid is more of a social burden than being ugly.
     
  12. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Not an FDR fan, huh?

    "Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet, we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

    In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."


    How about the Framers?

    "The "raise and support Armies" clause was the Framers' solution to the dilemma. The Constitutional Convention accepted the need for a standing army but sought to maintain control by the appropriations power of Congress, which the Founders viewed as the branch of government closest to the people.

    The compromise, however, did not satisfy the Anti-Federalists. They largely shared the perspective of James Burgh, who, in his Political Disquisitions (1774), called a "standing army in times of peace, one of the most hurtful, and most dangerous of abuses." The Anti-Federalist paper A Democratic Federalist called a standing army "that great support of tyrants." And Brutus, the most influential series of essays opposing ratification, argued that standing armies "are dangerous to the liberties of a people...not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpation of powers, which they may see proper to exercise, but there is a great hazard, that any army will subvert the forms of government, under whose authority, they are raised, and establish one, according to the pleasure of their leader." During the Virginia ratifying convention, George Mason exclaimed, "What havoc, desolation, and destruction, have been perpetrated by standing armies!" The Anti-Federalists would have preferred that the defense of the nation remain entirely with the state militias."


    - http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/52/army-clause
     
  13. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    When did that happen?! I knew I shouldn't have left. :mad:
     
  14. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    :D

    Well, every soldier I've talked to has definitely been jealous of your bases and quartermaster's stores. That's something.

    I think it's telling that these are the most complimentary comments this guy could find, because a lot of them read like back-handed insults, or trying to find something nice to say because they gave them stuff: https://www.aei.org/publication/heres-how-armed-forces-of-other-nations-view-the-us-military/

    I'm sure it varies between units though.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2016
  15. Ero-Sennin

    Ero-Sennin Well-Known Member Supporter

    Wow. None of what I got through sounded anything like my experience in the military. The infantry side of things is a lot different than the rest of the military though, in both the Army and Marine Corps. Most exposure foreign troops get to our military tends to be the non infantry side. Those nice bases and stuff, which we very, very rarely got to see when I was in.

    There's definitely a big difference between units and their discipline though. I remember when we switched with the prior sniper unit. They left one guy behind to run a few mission with us before we left and he was a colorful character. I remember being exhausted running around in the hills, but so on edge and alert. A camel spider couldn't poop without us knowing it.

    Fast forward to the unit that took over our spot. We ran a few missions with them and these dummies were falling asleep on missions! When we got back we learned one of them got their head shot off in an attempted coordination effort with tanks (snipers spotting for tanks, a tactic our unit actually started in Afghanistan and introduced into doctrine). They didn't let the tanks know their position . . . . . . .

    So . . . it all depends on who you run in to.

    One thing is for sure though. From a little past Vietnam to my generation, a lot of us are some blood thirsty killers as opposed to the generations before us. Not sure what to make of that just yet. Good if an alien race decides to invade, maybe not so good to be so willing to kill our fellow man. :dunno:
     
  16. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Let's pray for the little green men to beam down and start zapping us with their ray guns! :D

    It's not just the thirst for blood though, the thirst for cash is pretty insatiable too:

    "Since 2005, 115 U.S. service members have been convicted of crimes valued at more than $50 million in Iraq and Afghanistan, including stealing, rigging contracts, and taking bribes."

    "U.S. Inspectors General for Iraq and Afghanistan say that far more fraud has been committed by military personnel than has been prosecuted so far."


    - https://www.publicintegrity.org/201...en-convicted-50-million-worth-crimes-iraq-and
     
  17. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    of course you would say that. critical thinking--you should look into it.

    i have zero tolerance or sympathy for people that are too lazy to work to educate themselves. i worked full-time from 16 years old to 46 (now), that includes high school, undergraduate, graduate.

    i started at my company as the person answering the phone, and now i'm the coo.

    so don't give me this "please reach out to us" business. work to educate yourself or go home.
     
  18. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    That would be fine if their home wasn't also our home.
     
  19. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    I don't understand your point. Sorry.


    That looks like an inconsistent attitude.

    Anyway, whenever I have a difference of opinion on politics or some other volatile subject, I like talking with David H because he tells me the whats and whys without "berating me for being stupid."
     
  20. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Only if you equate bombing and berating.
     

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