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The UK is having a special election, which could force out Starmer. https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/most-important-election-since-1938-220311085.html

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025.12.8_ICE-Report-revised-FINAL.pdf https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/ice-deports-3-u-s-citizen-children-held-incommunicado-prior-to-the-deportation Groks answer attached.

Thank you so much. I'm pretty darn far within/underneath age 33, and ever further away from age 35; So I'm a little confused what they meant. I'm gonna give it a closer re-read. Really appreciate the help! Certainly, unless I either 1: get an FAA third class and/or 2: become an active duty USAF, USMC, USN, and/or USCG aviator first, they will probably never take me LOL. I never considered it until now and it would certainly be a last resort, but maybe they would take sport pilot? I kind of doubt it, and I'm sure someone here has asked before. I'll look around. Edit: https://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/topic/23227-does-have-a-sports-pilot-license-help-or-is-it-ppl-or-nothing/

So from what I can read, this isn't a deal. This is a deal to make a deal. During the further deal making all sanctions (oil wise) are to be lifted and Iran is free to sell and receive funds from those sales. Ballistic missile capability isn't to be touched or discussed.

The reasoning behind Trump deciding not to drink is one of his few respectable qualities. The way he orders his steak (and choice of condiment) is added to his many unrespectable qualities.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/air-force-identifies-8-crew-members-killed-b-52-stratofortress-crash-edwards-air-force-base

that thread is helpful. No idea what my depth perception is. Remember when I said juveniel alcohol and marijuana use? The FAA requires months or year(s) of alcohol and drug testing to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars for FAA class III or II or I, purportedly, allegedly. I was told to expect to spend at mininum $20,000 up to a ceiling of $100,000, and I could be denied. Google 'HIMS Program FAA AME' or something to that effect If I was a military pilot, I would have to get still do that if I wanted to convert to FAA ratings - I assume that entails asking your squadron commander if you can miss work to go to AA, pee in a cup, and get breathalyzers a couple times per month from a civilian facility. I thought the age ceiling for USAFR/AirNG was like ~40 or something absurd. I am in my mid 20s so maybe it is already too late! I was 22 when I started trying to do this, and I'm prior enlisted. I did not drag ass or take my time or procrastinate. I have been fighting BUMED (US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery - they handle all of USN and USMC) to fix medical records, for over a year. Allegedly they finished last week but I haven't see the document yet Thank you for the information and your honest opinion! yup, might be a pipe dream but I'm not giving up anytime soon, but I'm happy to transparently get the information that it might be a pipe dream. I'm under zero illusions that I'm 'special'. Well, maybe special in how stubborn and/or how much of a pain in the ass and/or how ridiculous I am, but doubtful that I'm special in any other ways

I thought I got zero responses on my posts because I got no emails or notifications; I thought all I got was a laughing reaction. So happy I investigated further. Thanks for the comment! I'm a little younger than you're thinking but only by a smidgen. All your intuitions are right on the ball or just a hair off. I thought AirNG/USAFR is ~42 age limit? Even with prior service and a PPL, you think I'd have zero chance? I agree, even if I ever get granted a class 3 or class 2 or class 1, it could take year(s)!!! Might be a pipe dream! Won't stop me from at least trying, though! Correct, I haven't taken the AFOQT but I kicked ass at the USMC/USN/USCG test/their-equivalent-of-the-TBAS. I got a 95 ASVAB when I was 18. So maybe I have a shot... not sure. Thanks so much for your candor and not sugarcoating. very generous of you to comment. I may be biased and unrealistic with my advocating right now, but I will admit, it might be a bleak

it seems so bad that it doesn’t make sense. I’ll wait a little bit before screaming and panicking.

Nobody can say with a straight face that this deal is good. It’s essentially a reset back to before the conflict. Iran took heavy damage but is getting pumped a shit ton of cash in return. Vance is in a terrible spot if he’s looking to run.

I'm not sure if and whether Russia is interested or even capable of gaining territory further into the European continent, especially the UK and Western Europe. Surely they are a malign actor, and a persistent threat to the Baltics and Eastern Europe. But I dont know that they have their eyes set in any meaningful way on Germany, France, UK, etc. Happy to have my mind changed on that, Putin is a bad dude indeed. I do believe Europe is at a civilizational tipping point, and I dont think Russia is the cause. A few years ago I would have rolled my eyes at populists and right-wingers who blamed "Globalism" and the uniparty/elites/NGO complex. The past year Ive changed my perspective. Broadly I think the dogma of liberal universalism, global movement of people/goods/money, and abstract ideas have been taken to their breaking point. Jd Vance and Marco Rubio's speeches to the Munich Conference and EU/NATO folks were also informative. I think they were on to something much deeper than just spending X% of GDP on defense. Yes, EU/NATO have sucked on the teet of the US defense arsenal for 30+ years and are woefully behind investing in their fleets, aircraft, technology, weapons, etc. And their ranks are thin. But even if they could magically flip the switch, crank up production, and field new weapons/platforms there are more substantial issues. Politically and econimically, Western Europe is a mess. They let go of manufacturing, built massive welfare states with dependent patronages, bought off on Net-Zero climate nonsense courtesy of a petulant swedish girl, and made housing and everyday living out of reach for working and middle class citizens. I beleive the recent quote I heard was that Mississippi (our poorest state) was wealthier per capita than the UK. On top of that, they thought-police their citizens, quash dissent, and subordinate national sovereignty to corrupt technocrats. Imagine youre a 25 year old Brit/Frenchman/German...cant afford a place to live or raise a family (while 3rd worlders live off the system). Would those young Europeans go fight the Ruskis on behalf of their political leaders? Take this one step further. The past 30 years has brought massive social, cultural, and demographic change to Western Europe. London is now ~30% white British, Viennas public schools are almost majority Muslim. Street violence, urban decay, capitulation to multiculturalism, DEI, etc at the cost of the native culture (psychologist Erik Kaufman calls this "asymmetric multiculturalism). Finally, the grooming gangs. If you are unaware, for the past 30+ years, groups of predominantly Pakistani muslim men groomed, r*ped, and abused thousands of white British girls, mostly lower/working class. They were subjected to the most heinous, gruesome abuse...and worse yet, British authorities knew and largely did nothing. The inquiry is slowly being made public, and IMO is shaping up to be the crime of the century. Some estimates say upwards of 250,000 girls were abused, some killed, many gang r*ped by groups of foreigners. They saw it as an act of conquest, the state covered it up as not to arouse "anger" or upset the multicultural experiment. The epitome of suicidal empathy and frankly a civilization-ending phenomena. https://spectator.com/article/why-liberals-ignored-the-grooming-gang-scandal/ A commentor above mentioned David Betz and his prediction of civil war. I read his papers a year ago and have listened to several of his interviews. He is a traditional academic, not an activist, mild mannered and level headed (from what I gather). Given the stabbings, violence, grooming/r*pe gangs across Europe, I cant help but agree completely. He has made his way into semi-mainstream podcasts and journalism, and I havent seen any substantive criticism of his claims. Just the grooming gangs alone are enough to convince me a civil war in the Uk is inevitable (if not already underway). And for that reason, I cant foresee those young Brits/Frenchmen/Germans/etc going to the eastern front to fight Vlad. Why would they? Their own nations have been hollowed out, made unafforable, and their leaders gleefully subordinate sovereign, native interests to hostile foreigners. And if all the fighting age men went East, who would guard their own cities and towns?? No, if anything, those young men will likely revolt against their own governments and attempt to restore what was once a good culture and civilization. Very concerning, but probable IMO. For those reasons, I dont believe Russia is Europe's number 1 threat. Putin is a bad dude, but whats happened in their own countries is far worse. Sorry for the rant. Brevity not my strong suit.

If you have found any, I would love to see a verified claim that a citizen was deported accidentally. I have seen not one single instance, but even if there was one instance, that would not be relevant. If we had maybe 10 instances or 100 instances, that would start to matter. We're talking about tens of millions of people, and accident rate of 0 is not logical in any context, especially this context. Again, we are not talking about imprisonment, execution, asset seizure, or any other punitive government actions. Those absolutely demand due process. Being deported is simply fixing the glitch. This is one of those issues that doesn't require much research, because you know factually that if there were verified cases of law-abiding citizens being shipped off to El Salvador, you would never hear the end of it from one side of the political spectrum, just like when an immigrant murders and innocent woman on the subway, you never hear the end of it from the other side. So far the left has a bit of a problem producing any evidence of the threats they seem so adamant to defend us against.

I love when y'all keep pulling the "hatred for this admin" card when legit points and sources are brought up. Guess when you can't attack the point your only option left is to attack the person. (1.1) Traded religious leadership for hardline military junta. (1.2) Validated ballistic and drone capabilities to close the strait of hormuz and harass economically and strategically nation in the ME seen as aiding the war against them. (2.1) FON existed prior to the conflict for decades. You don't get to claim FON as a victory when it existed all the way up until we began a conflict. (2.2) FON is a bold claim when you have 3rd party countries paying tolls for passage and months of ships bottled up. (3.1) Iran didn't possess a nuke before. Also didn't operation midnight hammer just last year already claim this? (3.2) No agreement or limitation on future nuke development. Likely the conflict has encouraged Iran to pursue one more urgently.

A 4 second Google search produces multiple claims of detained/deported citizens and legal immigrants. Some of this is obviously dubious, but due process is how that is sorted out. Trusting "the most unfathomably complex surveillance tools ever imagined by man" without any oversight is an insane violation of basic civil liberties.

Do you really think that this is just about figuring out whether or not the people are illegals or not? You think that's what the deportation judges are doing, looking for clues to figure out if they accidentally scooped up a citizen? Come on, you can't really think that, right? You think that in 2026, with the most unfathomably complex surveillance tools ever imagined by man, the real problem we are having is figuring out who is a citizen and who isn't? Exactly how many citizens are being accidentally deported? You ever met someone who had a hard time proving that they were a citizen? Lol, talk about bad faith.

The left doesn’t want to deport people who have been determined to be here illegally, so let’s not pretend this is a legitimate debate going on today.

You're making a strawman argument and you know it. Bad Ratner. Prove this person is an illegal alien, before imprisoning them and deporting them. Cause the government never makes mistakes, this should be easy.

Having spent a little time along the Texas border with Mexico in an official capacity, and having seen the onslaught of illegal immigrants wading across the Rio Grande, I am not without sympathy for their plight but I also clearly realize that the government's main priority must to be protect its citizens above all else. This issue has been politicized far more than it needs to be, it's a sovereignty issue and nothing else. No modern country allows completely unrestricted entry and settlement by anyone. Even places often cited as “open” still have rules, they require identification, limit how long you can stay, and/or enforce conditions like employment or housing. The “sovereign right to control borders” is a core principle of international law and statehood, meaning every country has the legal authority to decide who can enter, stay in and leave its territory. It’s codified across several core international legal sources. This is a great example I found years ago… Imagine a crowded town built inside sturdy walls. Inside the walls, there are laws, courts, schools, roads, and a shared agreement about how life works. People rely on these structures—they trust that disputes will be settled, that services will function, that rights will be protected. These things don’t exist by accident; they are maintained by the authority of the town itself—its ability to define who belongs inside, how resources are shared, and how order is kept. Now imagine a group of townspeople who begin to argue that the gates should be opened—wide. They believe movement should be freer, that people outside should not be held back by lines on a map. They point out, correctly, that on a human level, the walls can feel arbitrary. Why should where you’re born determine where you may live? Why should opportunity stop at a border? Their argument is rooted in a sense of fairness, even moral clarity: people should be able to move, to seek better lives, to not be constrained by geography. But across the square, others see a tension taking shape. They look at the same walls—not as arbitrary barriers, but as the very structures that make the town possible. The walls define the system that allows the laws to work, the taxes to be collected, the services to be delivered. Without some control over who comes and goes, they worry the town could lose its ability to function as it does now. And so, to them, an irony appears. They see people standing inside a functioning system—protected by it, benefitting from it—while calling for a loosening of the very boundaries that make that system coherent. It feels, to the critics, like wanting both the shelter of the house and the removal of its walls at the same time. Meanwhile, the reformers don’t see irony at all. In their eyes, the critics are too rigid—too tied to a model that treats borders as permanent and necessary in their current form. They point out that the town has already changed over time: gates have opened before, alliances have formed between neighboring towns, and entire regions have created shared spaces where movement is freer without chaos ensuing. To them, the walls are not sacred—they are adjustable. They would say: we’re not asking to destroy the town; we’re asking to rethink how its boundaries work. So the “irony” lives mostly in the space between these viewpoints. To one side, it is a contradiction: a desire for the benefits of a bounded system while arguing to weaken the boundaries. To the other, it is not a contradiction at all, but an evolution: a belief that systems can adapt, and that human mobility and social order do not have to be in conflict. And the town square conversation continues— not really about walls, or gates, or even borders, but about how much structure a society needs, and how much freedom it can sustain at the same time.

It is “incoherent” to you because you are blinded by your hatred for this administration. This is actually the first military conflict I’ve ever seen with clear strategic objectives (1) Attrite their military and military industrial complex (2) Ensure FON in the SOH (3) Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon Also please a huge shoutout to our kick ass Airmen across every platform and specialty who projected power under circumstances that none of us alive to this day have experienced. That extends to all the guard and reservists who were involuntarily mobilized and knocked it out of the park.

Yeah, I’m curious as how the T-7 will work as a trainer, without having an intermediate high performance trainer when this training paradigm comes to fruition I swapped fleets and went to the Bus and FBW / advanced automated systems are awesome and a better jet but they can make you complacent and atrophy certain flying skills. A jet that requires a certain amount of attention just to fly it properly has its advantages as a trainer but time will tell….

I will never understand the argument that people in a country illegally should have a months- or years-long right to protest their removal. Are you here legally? If no, then you are deported. Deportation is not imprisonment or punishment, it is merely the cessation of violation. Where's the logical end to this nonsense? Should visa applicants in Zimbabwe have a right to "due process" if they are denied a green card? If not, why is it any different for the Zimbabwean who snuck in? If we are trying to give them prison sentences, then yeah, due process includes the right to a fair trial. But if we're just returning intruders to their rightful place, due process should include only food and water for the journey home.

And yet somehow y'all don't care about the thousands of Americans dying yearly from the lack of proper Healthcare, shelter, or food in this country. Or millions suffering after we cut usaid plus our loss of global soft power. There are so many better things we could've spent these funds with a better roi in terms of $ for American lives. It's not orange man bad. It's not Iran good. It's the fact that the juice isn't worth the squeeze. And now after having squeezed it anyways, we're in a worse off position than we started in by any measure of regional status quo be that Jul 15, May 18, Oct 23, or Jan 26.

The best fighter pilots in the world have been trained on an old piece of shit for decades. Stress and repetition, that's all you need. I'll take the graduating pilot who spent 300 hours in an analog dinosaur that kept him at the edge of his ability over the one with 100 hours in a state of the art, modern-day-relevant Gucci trainer. Cheap, simple, plentiful, and fast. That's all we need. But as usual, every acquisition is a vanity project for the good-idea fairies we call generals.