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This is the same shit that brought us the Black lives matter nothing burger. Try to tell a liberal that blacks in America are committing a hugely disproportionate amount of violent crime, a completely irrefutable fact, and they call you a racist. But in the same breath they scream that we "have to" have a conversation about racist policing in America. Now we "have to" have a conversation about immigration, but call a country a shithole, when that country is by any reasonable analysis exactly that, boom, out comes the racist card. If you dingleberries keep using language restriction and faux outrage to shame people into your way of thinking, Donald is going to tap dance right into another term. Maybe when someone tells you they aren't racist, turn off your inner Maddow and try to figure out what other reasons they have for disagreeing with you.

There is no shortage of skilled, qualified people wanting to get to the U.S. I’ve been asked numerous times by European co workers to help them look into paths to immigration for them (pilots) or family whom they in 2018 want their kids to have a better shot at economic success. The American dream is still alive. We get to be picky about who we let in...we SHOULD be picky. I’m not a Trump fan but let’s face it, 69%+ of Americans think those countries are sh-tholes. I applaud his honesty. Zero of my liberal friends are rushing to sponsor and lodge African immigrants, nor do they in reality want those migrants moving in next door. They simply want to feel good #emotionalliberalactsofnothing and attacking trump gets some anger out.

It's also from a time when immigrants WANTED to assimilate and become Americans. They came to work, to succeed and to leave the old world behind My how times have changed for so many... Teddy had it right on 111 years ago: “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I'm sure the word shithole was uttered when the white house press corp who followed Dubya to Crawford Tx when they started to bitch about no Starbucks for miles.

So then do you see the root problem as more a matter of training, or is it more related to w/dependent BAH?

Mark1, your post is a lot to disgest. I am wondering if your experience with current LL fusion technology is limited to the MX on gunships or if you’re also familiar with the myriad other systems? Because seeing hot projectiles is really just a matter of spectrum sensitivity and imaging resolution (along with operator raining I suppose). That capability exists on platforms that aren’t 1960s H models. What am I missing? On another note, I’ve been out of the ops world for a few years but I’m glad the hubris of gunship superiority in all things is still alive and well! You guys saving the day while the rest of us are happily oblivious reminds me of fond memories. If you could shout at me with a shit radio while your feed is intermittent, then spend an hour trying to hit a single squirter, then not attend the debrief because of crew rest (even though I’m flying again in 10 hours and you’re off the next day) our trip down memory lane would be complete. Just having some fun bro! Don’t send your 28man alchoholic crew to kidnap me & shave my head.

This.

It’s just another data point of the Air Force showing us what we are truly worth.

A bigger issue is the fact that we are wasting airframe life on the B-1(and B-52s/F-15Es, etc.) doing CAS in Afghanistan when the AF should have bought the Tucano/AT-6 a decade ago to use instead. Or if you just want a coordinate bomber with long on-station times, we could have hung JDAMs on a 737 (i.e. Navy P-8) a decade ago.

And to me, it makes perfect sense why we would want to scrutinize the hell out of those individuals (all immigrants really) who wants to come here. If it doesn't benefit American citizens then why bring in people who will be a net drain on society? It's bad enough that our federal government fetuses to take border security/illegal immigration seriously, but intentionally welcoming people who do not share our values/have little offer is stupid. Europe is starting to learn this the hard way...

NS, I agree 100%. Mark1 I am curious— what is your experience with fused imaging to make you think it is not a replacement? I haven’t seen a single thing LLTV alone does better. For the wider debate, PBARs post wins.

JTAC passed friendly grid in 4/6, aircrew didn't recognize/process that fact (and clearly JTAC didn't intend to do it). Turns out plotting shit on a map is a still a good idea; it's a team sport, back each other up out there.

I was going to tear into this but you summed up what I was going to say, assimilation is the key to all of this. So many immigrants in the past changed their last names so they wouldn't be thought of as "from there" for one reason or another, but in a way, it was throwing a finger at their old country and starting new. None of it was easy in the past, and it won't be easy going forward. If it wasn't so obvious that one side wants votes off a new immigration policy it might be easier to stomach.

This is bullshit.

@Kiloalpha I guess my point with posting part of The New Colossus poem (inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty) is that IMHO, it is the American tradition to accept immigrants in some ways without regard to their skills or background. America was built by a lot of cast-offs and unwanted people from around the world and I think it would be a mistake for us to think that we've somehow "made it" now and we should only accept the best and brightest with the most perfect resumes. For those who decry elitism in other aspects of public policy and society, an elitist immigration policy to me is one that takes a cold, calculating look at paper resumes and only lets in those who are already top achievers. I do support targeted programs that allow for additional highly-skilled immigrants and that work to actively attract them, but I also support an overarching immigration policy that views America as a safe-haven, a new beginning, and a shining city on a hill that's open to anyone in the world who wants to get a fair shot at a better deal. "I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still." - President Reagan, from his Jan 1989 farewell speech. My immigrant ancestors from Italy and elsewhere didn't have college degrees or a lot of money. Some were fairly shady folks back in the Old Country and I'm sure there were criminals among them. Some had fairly swarthy complexions and big noses, and none spoke much english. They would not pass some tough standard for immigration based on skills. But they came and they were accepted in time by American society and I'm glad they did. Where I do agree with you is assimilation - to me we don't have immigrants and natural-born citizens, we have Americans. I want future immigrants to understand that when they come here, they become Americans, either as residents and some eventually as citizens, and that means something special. Yes, it means learning our language, our culture, our customs, and working hard to contribute to the country as a whole, but being an American transcends all that. It means you're a valued member of a country where anyone can make it, where no one is above the law, and where you're not bound by your race or your class or your religion or where you or your parents were born. The Land of Opportunity. I say we welcome the downtrodden and the well-off and everyone in between and show them all what it truly means to be an American if they're up to the task.

Goddamn hippies

I’ll bite on this and say absolutely, 100% the sensors on the AC-130U are outdated technology that should not and do not have a place on modern aircraft. There is a good reason why the W and J gunships that replaced the Hs and will eventually also replace the U-boats have different sensors. There’s absolutely no comparison between U-boat sensors and something like a VNIR MTS-B or SWIR-fusion on an MX-20 or MX-25. Those are the kinds of sensors that BSSG is rightfully buying for the aircraft they support. I do agree with you that better sensors and knowledge of how to use them could have helped prevent the B-1 frat incident being discussed.

Based on the color of those trails, it looks like they were spraying the mass sterilization compound that day. Fine choice.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a17968/skeleton-pilot-doesnt-have-a-scared-bone-in-his-body/

Lotsa hate from these boyos...

Y’all rationalizing POTUS saying certain (overwhelmingly black) countries are “shithole countries” and certain (overwhelmingly white) countries have more desirable potential immigrants is pretty sad. No one is arguing that Haiti is nicer than Norway, it’s pretty clear that it’s not; that’s not the point. But have some damn decency Mr. President. You’re the POTUS and you speak for us and your words matter. You simply cannot talk like this. The story of America is not that we built some modern-day Elysium by only letting in the “right” people with the “best” backgrounds. Far from it, and almost exactly the opposite in fact. Raise your hand if your ancestors immigrated here from a country that used to be considered not so great...my hand is raised. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/02/opinion/illegal-immigration-italian-americans.html "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Trump couldn't have chosen a worse target for his racist comments than Nigeria. Houston Chronicle: "Data show Nigerians the most educated in the U.S. BACHELOR'S AND BEYOND In America, Nigerians' education pursuit is above rest Whether driven by immigration or family, data show more earn degrees" http://www.chron.com/news/article/Data-show-Nigerians-the-most-educated-in-the-U-S-1600808.php He's racist. Stop rationalizing. If you're OK with comments like this (it's not the first time he's made racist comments), you're racist too.