Politics

[375 Ruger Fan]

Absolutely the best unbiased recap of the Milley Trumps drama.
Especially the insubordination or political aspects. An Unelected official and worse, military officer calls our Cold War enemy to undermine his Commander and Chief. Not good.

That’s what happens in 3rd world countries. Milley inflated the nuclear threat to get supporters behind him. Thinking plotting with Pelosi was not being political.

He should have been charged with insubordination and unbecoming but no where near treasonous level.

I have a little different take on it, with regards to Gen Milley. Multiple members in the administration have official counterparts at other nations and routinely communicate with them. I have read both of H.R, McMaster's books detailing his time working for Trump, as well as John Bolton's book. Both were National Security Advisor (NSA) and they detailed how Sec of State, SecDef, Treasury, Chairman JCS, etc would talk with their counterparts. It is part of the job.

Trump and others routinely criticized Milley for the Afghanistan exit debacle. Milley isn't in the chain of command. Talk to the Central Command commander about that.

What is really troubling, towards the end of the video, details about a "Pentagon hit list" being made by Matt Flynn, brother of Mike Flynn. Supposedly going after woke generals and admirals. Are we really going to have a "Night of the long knives?" Military officers either follow orders (lawful orders) or they find a new job. Biden wanted to do woke military and gave the orders.

 

[cash_tx]

Al has never been anything but an opportunistic grifter, except for the occasional race baiting when it furthered his grifting.

Al Sharpton’s acceptance of Kamala Harris campaign’s $500K donation a ‘bridge too far’ for MSNBC colleagues

“Everybody knows who Al Sharpton is… but this feels like a bridge too far,” an MSNBC employee said. “This has a bit of a dirty feel to it.”

nypost.com

 

[Red Leg]

I have a little different take on it, with regards to Gen Milley. Multiple members in the administration have official counterparts at other nations and routinely communicate with them. I have read both of H.R, McMaster's books detailing his time working for Trump, as well as John Bolton's book. Both were National Security Advisor (NSA) and they detailed how Sec of State, SecDef, Treasury, Chairman JCS, etc would talk with their counterparts. It is part of the job.

Trump and others routinely criticized Milley for the Afghanistan exit debacle. Milley isn't in the chain of command. Talk to the Central Command commander about that.

What is really troubling, towards the end of the video, details about a "Pentagon hit list" being made by Matt Flynn, brother of Mike Flynn. Supposedly going after woke generals and admirals. Are we really going to have a "Night of the long knives?" Military officers either follow orders (lawful orders) or they find a new job. Biden wanted to do woke military and gave the orders.

You are exactly correct. There is a lot of open source reporting from the time that the Chinese were particularly nervous about the events taking place around the Jan 6 protests. There were indications that the Chinese believed a "wag the dog" incident could occur. Milley's call, a counterpart with whom the chairman maintains regular diplomatic contact, which was attended by his staff, was absolutely appropriate considering the situation and the focus, or should I say "disfocus," of the outgoing president.

I do not know Matt Flynn's brother, but I was a contemporary of Flynn. I would personally describe him as a self-promoting near nut job. If you want an example of a general officer who has no understanding of the line between military professionalism and being politically focused look no farther than Flynn.

The DEI initiative was a major effort by the previous administration. Neither Milley no any other officer has the constitutional authority to say anything but either yes sir or I resign. I do not know Milley, but I suspect he felt that by staying he could mitigate the worst potential effects of those initiatives. He had no role in the Afghanistan withdrawal other than as a military advisor to the President. The combatant commander responsible was USMC Gen Kenneth McKenzie the CG of Central Command. There too, his courses of action were also limited by the guidance of civilian authority.

This truly will be the equivalent of Soviet show trials, and were a democrat administration proposing them, those cheering now would be the loudest to oppose them. Dangerous childishness.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I’m going to guess NY consumes more federal dollars than it puts in… if true… cool… stop paying in… and the fed govt will stop paying out… problem solved…

I’m going to guess that if you take NYC and Albany off the table, most of NY would be very opposed to becoming Canadian citizens… and when the UN, Wall Street, and other major financial resource providers relocate so that they can stay in the US (make no mistake… Canada can’t afford to foot the UN bill, and Wall Street needs the US business infrastructure.. it has no desire to play second fiddle to the Toronto Stock Exchange entities…)… we’ll see how the already screwed NYC economy supports those NYC residents…

The NY Senator is about as intelligent as the congressman that thought if we stationed too many people on Guam that the island would tip over and everyone would fall into the ocean…

I forgot about the Guam deal

 

[BigSteve57]

The Russian ruble is falling in real time against the dollar and Euro - now trading at 112 to the dollar - down from 100 just a day ago. The Kremlin is running out of levers to try to stop an actual collapse. The Russian Central Bank's interest rate is now already at 22%.

I am sure Putin will offer assurances any moment that everything is going to plan.

USD/RUB Currency Exchange Rate & News - Google Finance

Get the latest United States Dollar to Russian Ruble (USD / RUB) real-time quote, historical performance, charts, and other financial information to help you make more informed trading and investment decisions.

www.google.com

It just got worse:
Russian Ruble to United States Dollar: 0.0088 dollars, less than a cent, to the ruble or 113.63 rubles to the dollar

https://www.google.com/finance/quote/RUB-USD?window=5Y

 

[cwpayton]

I was talking about portable launchers like what they use for SAM'S and the like

well they gotta get those missiles to Vandenberg to test them some how. but it seems to me in the far distant foggy memory ,we gave up the right to mobile missiles in some treaty. correct me Red Leg if im wrong on that

 

[cwpayton]

The only caveat that I would offer is that various parties can have very different interpretations of what constitutes a level whatever issue. On abortion for instance, it is hard to have a bare knuckle debate with someone who thinks it is fine if another party personally opposes abortion in their and their family's lives and simply ignore that position in their own. I am a bit of a deist as much as I am a Calvinist. I truly believe God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. I therefore long ago concluded such a being had very little patience with humankind created dogma - within or without the Christian faith. Whether one is a hard shell Southern Baptist, Episcopalian, Catholic, Baha'i, Jew, or Muslim, I truly could care less as long as no one attempts to inflict a specific doctrine on me. That extends to politics as well.

my belief is that as a Christian , should as much as possible line up his beliefs as close as humanly possible with the word , 'bible' some things are really easy because they are called out , like say adultery, homosexuality, other things are a slippery slope that arent as definite as some think, just my nickels worth.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I have said this before, we have enough mindless libiturds here already, we don’t want yours!

Ah... You mean we have to keep them? Damn.

 

[WAB]

Interesting data point. A friend, who farms some of our acres, bought one of the new round bale cotton pickers. This is about a $700,000 piece of equipment. The big driver in the purchase was his inability to get workers to run the equipment for the old baling system. This advance took his crew requirement from 4 or 5 to one.

In my mind this is a sad commentary on our work force. I support the efficiency improvements of the new technologies, but these decisions are irreversible. Those jobs are gone forever.

 

[Altitude sickness]

.375 Ruger.
My view is Trump upset many norms in his first term. I am certainly not defending Trump being cavalier about using nukes. Like a spoiled rich kid that takes over daddies business and disrupts the long term employees. He thinks it’s a game. He doesn’t understand the level of dedication and professionalism of the professional military officer.
And I am not saying that General Milley should not have been concerned. The difference is that Milley was not in the chain of command. Mattis was, and if Mattis had concerns. Why was Milley calling China.

 

[Red Leg]

my belief is that as a Christian , should as much as possible line up his beliefs as close as humanly possible with the word , 'bible' some things are really easy because they are called out , like say adultery, homosexuality, other things are a slippery slope that arent as definite as some think, just my nickels worth.

I absolutely agree.

Just as a Muslim aligns his beliefs with the Koran or a Jew, the Tanakh. Of course, among Christians there are a host of sects which interpret the Bible differently - often reflecting cultural differences as much as differences in in actual dogma. The Jews have almost equally diverse interpretations, which again, tend to express themselves in cultural behavior. Muslims face a number of schisms of which Sunni and Shia are simply the best known. All of the above have clashed in bloody expression of those beliefs. Yet, these three religious groups are actually family - or as Arab's say "People of the Book." They acknowledge the same God and study what is essentially the same old testament. We have not even addressed Buddhism, Hinduism, and all the other faiths man has created in order to understand the incomprehensible.

I would simply argue that an all knowing, all powerful, everywhere present deity likely has little real interest in man's very narrow interpretations of its existence and role in the universe.

As I noted above, I am a Calvinist - I suppose a Presbyterian as much as anything. But I am that because it is a faith that enables me personally to best understand what is essentially the unknowable. I in no way believe my choice is the only one offering that understanding.

 

[steve white]

Dang she's looking rough these days. You think it's fruit or grain induced?

The Babylon Bee is working over Kamala pretty good on the drinking angle

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I absolutely agree.

Just as a Muslim aligns his beliefs with the Koran or a Jew, the Tanakh. Of course, among Christians there are a host of sects which interpret the Bible differently - often reflecting cultural differences as much as differences in in actual dogma. The Jews have almost equally diverse interpretations, which again, tend to express themselves in cultural behavior. Muslims face a number of schisms of which Sunni and Shia are simply the best known. All of the above have clashed in bloody expression of those beliefs. Yet, these three religious groups are actually family - or as Arab's say "People of the Book." They acknowledge the same God and study what is essentially the same old testament. We have not even addressed Buddhism, Hinduism, and all the other faiths man has created in order to understand the incomprehensible.

I would simply argue that an all knowing, all powerful, everywhere present deity likely has little real interest in man's very narrow interpretations of its existence and role in the universe.

As I noted above, I am a Calvinist - I suppose a Presbyterian as much as anything. But I am that because it is a faith that enables me personally to best understand what is essentially the unknowable. I in no way believe my choice is the only one offering that understanding.

On the contrary, I think God (that’s the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) cares quite a bit about how we interpret Scripture [that’s the Old & New Testaments of the Holy Bible, excluding the apocrypha (along with all their false teachings)] that the Catholics accept. The fact that He gave us His Word which is so explicit about what He wants us to believe and how to live and (wholly) sufficient to gain understanding on any subject proves how much He cares.

The Calvinists and the Catholics don’t believe in the correct doctrine of salvation. Both the Catholic and the Calvinist beliefs on the topic are antithetical to what Scripture says and wholly inconsistent with the nature of God presented in Scripture. Their beliefs are founded on twisting of Scripture and uninspired canon. If you don’t even have the doctrine of salvation, which is the entry point to the Christian faith, correct then how do you proceed any further? At the time Martin Luther enlightened many (freeing them from the corrupted Catholic Church), John Calvin came to mislead many.

Jesus Christ (the Christ of the Scriptures) is the only way to God. The Jews have largely rejected Him. That said there are many who have been, are being and will be saved. For God’s chosen people His promises will be kept.

As for Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses and all the other false religions of the world see the first sentence of my previous paragraph. There is no hope in any other and no other source for salvation.

On the subject of the many denominations of Christianity, some schisms initially occurred over secondary issues but it looks like many are now truly disqualifying themselves as they increasingly adopt false teachings.

True Christianity is by nature narrow and exclusionary (necessarily so and according to Scripture). Many will see those as negative connotations but they are not and I would simply tell them to study and decide for themselves whether my claims are true or not.

 

[PARA45]

well they gotta get those missiles to Vandenberg to test them some how. but it seems to me in the far distant foggy memory ,we gave up the right to mobile missiles in some treaty. correct me Red Leg if im wrong on that

The Air Force had the GLCM (Ground Lailunch Cruise Missiles) in the late 80s. I was station at Comiso AS, and was part of the GLCM Comm Relay Team. When our unit (base) became operational the Soviet Union at the time, signed the INF treaty. Our motto was: “ We could rock Moscow, hit after hit, after hit”.

I remember our missiles being shipped to DM AFB for destruction. I’m not sure if we have anything today that could carry a nuclear or conventional payload.

The GLCM was deadly and super accurate, with either conventional or nuclear payloads. Unfortunately, once launched they couldn’t be recalled.

 

[Tanks]

On the contrary, I think God (that’s the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) cares quite a bit about how we interpret Scripture...

I think the operative word here is "think". Every religion and its offshoots interpret the dogma according the their own beliefs, prejudices and thoughts and "think" their interpretation is the true Word.

Hence, the millions of lives lost in history in wars fought in the name of religion even onto today.

Monty Python even made a satiric movie named "Life of Brian" about this, best scene is below:

 

[Brent in Az]

well they gotta get those missiles to Vandenberg to test them some how. but it seems to me in the far distant foggy memory ,we gave up the right to mobile missiles in some treaty. correct me Red Leg if im wrong on that

Could be. Russia has those big mobile launchers for ICBM's.
I'm not sure what the U.S military has in it's arsenal for mobile lower yield tactical nukes
Even though it wouldn't happen, Im sure giving nukes to the Ukraine would violate a treaty?

 

[Neophyte]

Personally I’d support her, and the rest of New York’s, secession. Maybe they can take Taxachusett with them.

 

[Tanks]

I’m going to guess NY consumes more federal dollars than it puts in… if true… cool… stop paying in… and the fed govt will stop paying out… problem solved…

...

NY has the third biggest economy in the US after CA and TX. If it was a country, it would have the 10th largest economy in the World. So, I'd say it is most likely they pay more Federal tax dollars than they take in.

 

[mdwest]

So, I'd say it is most likely they pay more Federal tax dollars than they take in.

incorrect.

from NYs own records…

[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]/[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]/ny-received-more-washington-it-sent-due-federal-relief#:~:text=In%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Federal%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Fiscal%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Year%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]](FFY,balance%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]of%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]payments%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]of%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]%%C[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]][emoji6]." class="link link--external" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" data-proxy-href=""> https://www.osc.ny.gov/press/releases/[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]/[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]/ny-received-more-washington-it-sent-due-federal-relief#:~:text=In%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Federal%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Fiscal%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]Year%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]](FFY,balance%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]of%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]payments%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]of%[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]]%%C[emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]][emoji6].

 

[Tanks]

Due to pandemic funds spending according to that report. Would like to see the numbers based on pre-pandemic spending.

In reality, seeing that Feds take in much less money than they spend my guess would be almost every State taking more from Feds than they put in.