gearhog

Let's give credit where due: Biden convinced Mexican President CC to allow aid to flow into Southern Gaza and convinced Israeli President BB to allow aid into Northern Gaza. https://x.com/DYShor/status/1755771553747194351?s=20

I can't believe this interview is allowed on Western media outlets. Just a few quick thoughts. 1. Tucker was cringe. His trademark giggle seems fake and it was almost as if he was fawning over Putin. He just let Putin ramble for 15 minutes at a time. 2. Putin took the first 30 minutes to give a 1000 year dissertation in ancient Russian history. Tucker tried interject and get the interview back on track multiple times. No one wants to hear all that. We all want to hear the recent relevant highlights while Putin apparently thinks and talks in encyclopedias. It's called "History" because it's over. It has nothing to do with the current situation. 3. Putin kept baselessly claiming NATO was expanding, that we provoked a coup in 2014, and the Donbass separatists were being bombed. And Neo-Nazis? Is he being serious? Sounded like a lunatic. 4. For being the head of the Russia state, every time he was asked about his assessment of the actions or rationale of the US, his answer would be something to the effect of "I don't know what the hell they're doing. It makes no sense." How can someone in his position be this perplexed by our strategies and methods? 5. Putin said he had neither the capability or intentions to invade Europe. Which is what anyone would say before they did just that. 6. He did mention that we should be more concerned by the massive invasion of our southern border and our unsustainable debt, which he might have a fair point. 7. He said he was willing to negotiate a settlement, but then said he refused to call Biden, contradicting himself. 8. Tucker tried to get him to release a US journalist and he refused, and claimed he was a spy. Overall, it was thinly disguised Pro-Russian and Pro-Putin propaganda. Do not watch.

Isn't it cynical to say the American media is propaganda and the American public is stupid. What is America if not its citizens? If it is that stupid, why would you want them becoming involved in an issue they may not understand? This interview is only going to add to the Pro-Putin propaganda by a substantial amount and there will likely be more people who believe it than disbelieve it. It seems we have two options: 1. Decrease the amount of Pro-Putin propaganda (restrict Tucker Carlson and his ilk by some fashion) 2. Increase the amount of Pro-US/NATO propaganda. This is the more difficult option. Perhaps, as you say, we could let someone else digest it for us, but who should we listen to? The most important thing is preserving the US, which means preserving US global leadership. I believe alternate viewpoints should be allowed on most issues, but those that threaten our national security and global dominance can't be allowed to spread unchecked. There was a large amount of anti-war sentiment during Viet-Nam, and how did that turn out for us? Lots of people began to grow weary of our involvement in AFG, and that didn't turn out so well either. I think we've learned our lesson. We jailed people for Jan 6 and I think we even shot one. There hasn't been any massive anti-government protests since. Freedom cannot be enjoyed unless there is a government that provides it to you. Allowing anti-US sentiment to proliferate is like shooting yourself in the foot. Assange and Snowden mishandled classified information, likely giving aid to our enemies. Neither are allowed to roam free. But giving our #1 enemy a massive platform to rationalize his actions and express his anti-US viewpoints to hundreds of millions of people is somehow less criminal? It doesn't make sense.

Unfortunately, we don't live in that world are absolutely not going to. Personally, critical thinking among children on this issue isn't anywhere near the top of my list of concerns. My concerns are with the full grown adults with actionable opinions on the matter that do not have critical thinking skills, and no one is going to sit with them. What if some of them are unable to see through the lies and actually take the interview at face value? Allowing Putin to speak freely to the American people can only be detrimental to our cause, unless equal time and questioning were given to Biden and perhaps Zalensky. A supplemental aid package to Ukraine worth $60 Billion is about to be approved, bringing the US total Ukraine aid to roughly $175 Billion. There are American citizens fighting in Ukraine. The majority of Ukraine war-fighting vehicles, weapons systems, and equipment are being supplied by us. I think we're in a war. Do you believe this interview will reveal glaringly obvious flaws in Putin's rationale, or will he make sense to some people, resulting in a net loss of support for Ukraine? I believe the latter. This is bad for Ukraine, bad for NATO, and bad for our global superiority. It's Vladamir Putin, the biggest bad guy on the planet. It's like giving Hitler a platform to explain himself. Introducing the least bit of doubt as to our righteousness could be devastating to the aid we're providing to the Ukrainians, and potentially clear a path for Putin to invade Europe.

Why is Tucker Carlson being allowed to publish his interview with Vladimir Putin tomorrow evening at 6pm EST? If we're at war with Russia, and Tucker interviews the leader of the country we are at war with, and then publishes that interview on American media outlets, is that not Anti-American propaganda? Is it not traitorous? We already know every word Putin says in the interview will be a lie, so why would we allow anyone to see dangerous misinformation? It only makes sense to sanction and bring charges against anyone deliberately causing harm to our national security.

Good news, @Sua Sponte. Your kids can join. New enlistment standards: No diploma, No GED, ASVAB 50. https://nypost.com/2024/01/28/news/us-navy-to-allow-new-recruits-join-who-didnt-graduate-from-high-school-or-get-a-ged/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost_sitebuttons

What a shockingly simple tactic. I, too, assumed that 20 years of massive funding and development of drone and anti-drone technologies would keep our bros safe. It wasn't enough.

Hey, you can’t park there

It's over 7000 signatures now. I signed it. I wonder how many are AD. If they punish one AD member, they'd have to punish them all.

The below letter was written by Commander Robert A. Green Jr., U.S. Navy, and signed by 231 current and former Service Members from all branches of the United States Armed Forces. There was a time when I would have been put off by the tone and language here. Not anymore. I think it is entirely appropriate. https://freedomfighter1776.com/dma-accountability 1 January 2024 An Open Letter to the American People from Signatories of this Declaration of Military Accountability “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” –John Adams In the course of human events it sometimes becomes necessary to admonish the lawless, encourage the fainthearted, and strengthen the weak. We have reached just such a time in our history. The affairs of our nation are now steeped in avaricious corruption and our once stalwart institutions, including the Dept of Defense, are failing to fulfill the moral obligations upon which they were founded. Standing upon our natural and constitutional rights, we hereby apprise the American people that we have exhausted all internal efforts to rectify recent criminal activity within the Armed Forces. In the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers sought separation. We seek no separation, but through this letter and the efforts we pledge herein, we pursue restoration through accountability. We intend to rebuild trust and restore the rule of law, particularly within the Armed Forces. Ultimately, we strive to once again become a moral people, restoring our nation, and making it again worthy of the great gift of liberty won by the colonial-era American people. While implementing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, military leaders broke the law, trampled constitutional rights, denied informed consent, permitted unwilling medical experimentation, and suppressed the free exercise of religion. Service members and families were significantly harmed by these actions. Their suffering continues to be felt financially, emotionally, and physically. Some service members became part of our ever-growing veteran homeless population, some developed debilitating vaccine injuries, and some even lost their lives. In an apparent attempt to avoid accountability, military leaders are continuing to ignore our communications regarding these injuries and the laws that were broken. For GEN Milley, ADM Grady, GEN McConville, ADM Gilday, ADM Lescher, Gen Brown, Gen Berger, Gen Smith, VADM Kilby, VADM Nowell, VADM Fuller, LTG Martin, Lt Gen Davis, MG Edmonson, GEN Williams, ADM Fagan, VADM Buck, Lt Gen Clark, MG Francis, LTG Dingle, Lt Gen Miller, RADM Gillingham, and numerous others; These individuals enabled lawlessness and the unwilling experimentation on service members. The moral and physical injuries they helped inflict are significant. They betrayed the trust of service members and the American people. Their actions caused irreparable harm to the Armed Forces and the institutions for which we have fought and bled. These leaders refused to resign or take any other action to hold themselves accountable, nor have they attempted to repair the harm their policies and actions have caused. Since there has yet to be any accountability, the undersigned give our word to do everything morally permissible and legally possible to hold our own leadership accountable. We intend to rebuild trust by demonstrating that leaders cannot cast aside constitutional rights or the law for political expediency. The flag and general officers are far from the only ones complicit in recent illegal activities, as a significant number of SES leaders and political appointees contributed. Evidence indicates that other executive agencies are engaging in illegal activity. However, as service members and veterans, we feel particularly responsible for the DoD and, in accordance with our oaths, we will make every effort to demonstrate by example, how an institution can put its own house in order. We the undersigned, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of service members and the American people, while appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for guidance and purity of intention, mutually pledge to each other that we will do everything in our power, through lawful word and action, to hold accountable military leaders who failed to follow the law when their leadership and moral courage was most desperately needed. In the coming years, thousands within our network will run for Congress and seek appointments to executive branch offices, while those of us still serving on active duty will continue to put fulfilling our oaths ahead of striving for rank or position. For those who achieve the lawful authority to do so, we pledge to recall from retirement the military leaders who broke the law and will convene courts-martial for the crimes they committed. For those of us who attain legislative offices, we pledge to introduce legislation to remove all retirement income for the military leaders who were criminally complicit, and we will ensure none serve in or retire from the Senior Executive Service. This endeavor will be a continuous process with a long-term time horizon, but fulfilling our oaths to defend the Constitution requires just such persistent vigilance. Likewise, we are obligated, and so commit, to train those who come after us to fulfill their duty in achieving this accountability and safeguarding against such leadership failures hereafter. Our nation was once great because it was good. It was built on moral principles founded in natural law and yet, the recent acceleration of moral relativism has us headed towards a precipitous implosion. While all good things come to an end, we refuse to allow our nation to go quietly into the depths of decadence and decay. We promise to exhaust all moral, ethical, and legal means to restore the rule of law and will begin by attempting to hold senior military leaders accountable. The Constitution is the supreme law of our land. We will fight to enforce that law and put an end to the two-tiered justice system. May future generations see our efforts and, God willing, may they also be recipients of the great gift of liberty that we have had the honor of safeguarding.

Adam, are you okay? Are you okay, Adam? *sound on

A few from my stint at CBM

“What is the most dangerous animal on the planet?”

WTF. Some days I think nothing shocks me anymore. Wrong. I got a few minutes. Morning coffee rant incoming: Does anyone really think the environment that allows this to occur is fixable? We are a good nation led by degenerates. I'm not talking about gays. We've put the some of the worst kinds of people in power and let them do whatever they want. Why would Cardin choose this guy as a staffer? What kind of culture in DC would the staffer think this would be a good idea? The entire culture/environment there now exists in an entirely different reality than you and I experience. No real consequences for depravity, instead, tolerance and even excuses for it. Maybe..Maybe.. it's quietly celebrated there. I had a nearly immaculate military career. When I joined ROTC, there was some sort of motto that went "Integrity, Service before Self, and Excellence in All We Do." I took that shit to heart. Perhaps my biggest and most regrettable failure was not securing the Tweet control lock on my mid-phase checkride. 2 downgrade U. After that, I never failed to meet any objective AF standard. Maybe the bar was low, and maybe I could have exceeded the standards even moreso, but it was amazing to watch capable peers self-eliminate over dumb shit while I worked hard and tried to improve everything I touched. And I think I did all right. What for? Sure, I did my part to save the country from goat-fuckers, but I gave the country to... To cut this short, every time I see stories like this lately, I feel regret. Not regret for setting high standards for myself, because it made me a better person, but for being duped into thinking there were people smarter than me setting standards for my service that would result in a better nation. That if I continuously did good things during my career, America would inevitably become an even better place. Instead, I wake up and see some dude getting corn-holed in what should be the most sacred places in the nation, being broadcast to the world. If Lauren Boebert was jerking some dude off in the same room, I'd have also spoken up. But nothing is going to happen. Again, not just this story, it's all of them lately. A seemingly unending clown parade from our nation's leadership. It's an undeniable trend in the wrong direction. Instead of trying to exceed personal and professional standards set for me, I should have been demanding higher standards of my government the whole time. Sort of an inverse take on JFK's famous line. But that ship has sailed. Too late. Just write it off as a bad investment, I guess.

Saw a trailer for this movie this morning. It's apparently getting people pretty riled up. We had just watched "Leave the World Behind" a couple nights ago. There were some thought-provoking concepts, but the movie sucked ass. Dystopian and disaster flicks are nothing new, but it's unsettling to see these plots and storylines using current events, then pulling on what seems to be a short thread. The movie plans to fill people's heads with this stuff next Spring as the election heats up. Just curious as to others thoughts. Think it'll be good?

Thankfully, sounds like pilot was rescued via SAR. Glad to hear of a successful water rescue after a spate of bad news. 🍻

It was a joke.

Now MSNBC has begun warming the public to idea of failure. "If we give everything we want to give to Ukraine, it still won't lead to success." https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/1727015665780060233?s=20 Zelensky fires the Chief of Ukrainian military medical system due to handling of battlefield casualties. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-calls-rapid-operations-changes-soldiers-sacks-commander-2023-11-19/

I hope everyone is okay.

I notice that you rarely comment on issues lately, but instead focus on ad hominem. Is it because you've been so consistently and embarrassingly wrong on nearly everything that you're afraid to say anything of substance?

RIP. 🍺 - Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee -Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California. -Staff Sergeant Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire. -Sergeant Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona. -Sergeant Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.

Of all the countries named, the leadership of which is least likely to be around in a year? This problem has to be explained, and it's a problem the Biden admin needs to solve. They also know they're gonna give Ukraine the finger and let them drown. They've served their purpose. Not one real investigation has said Russia did it. We're obviously not going to blame any of our European allies. So WaPo published and explanation that a Ukrainian "special forces" officer who is currently (and conveniently) jailed in Ukraine for "abuse of power"... rented a sailboat and some scuba gear and blew up the pipeline. So it's all explained and nobody that matters gets their feelings hurt.

LOL. The pivot will be from "We wouldn't do such a thing" to "I hope we do it again".