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The Next President is...


disgruntledemployee

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2 hours ago, gearpig said:

I have a feeling when you're talking to Mattis, you can only listen, even if you are the President Elect.

As it should be. Trump's expertise only helps to bring back jobs, boost the economy, and end government meddling. As far as the military is concerned, there are plenty of good, strong leaders that Trump can put in high positions to take care of business on the military side so he can devote more time to the economy.

To help with the elimination process, I'm hoping Mattis has all the candidates sit Indian-style in a circle and runs his palm across the top of their heads saying "Weak...... Weak....... Boot!". Then he gets to chase one around the circle, and I think you know what happens if he catches them.

As far as the cigarettes and beers go...

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Edited by tk1313
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This guy knows what he is talking about... bold is mine.

A Green Beret's plea to Donald Trump...

"Herein lies the problem that Congressman Hunter and the few like him recognize. Remote command centers now consume a majority of our force structure and nearly all of the military's officer corps. Combat has become a spectator sport for senior leaders glued to kill-TV. For too many, their exercise of battlefield command is commensurate with a round in the board game "Risk." And we have witnessed loyalty to the war fighter falter because some leaders fear the risk to their personal advancement."

"The nation's war fighters have had their fill of quibbling micromanagers who live in fear of the 24-hour media cycle and the social sensibilities of political elites. The Defense Department has lost its way, and we need a war fighter with the relevant experience, moral courage and youthful energy to lead and refocus the institution."

Edited by panchbarnes
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Ho, were it anyone other than General Mattis, what you said about the pol/mil balance would give me pause.  However, I'm ok with having the "warrior monk" providing a balanced pol/mil line of thought to the conversation, and I think he's a perfect candidate for a waiver.

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Ho, maybe these quotes will chill your whiskey.

“If in order to kill the enemy you have to kill an innocent, don’t take the shot. Don’t create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act.”

“We’ve backed off in good faith to try and give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. 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.”

“We will move swiftly and aggressively against those who resist, we will treat others with decency, demonstrating chivalry and soldierly compassion for people who have endured a lifetime under Saddam’s oppression. You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon."

Granted, it's not the "bow and apologize to everyone" diplomacy that we've seen over the last 8 years. But, it is diplomacy. In my opinion, the right kind.

Oh, and he said this when asked about why he banned unnecessary briefings under his command. “PowerPoint makes us stupid.”

A man after my own heart, this one is.

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Ho, maybe these quotes will chill your whiskey.
“If in order to kill the enemy you have to kill an innocent, don’t take the shot. Don’t create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act.”
“We’ve backed off in good faith to try and give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. 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.”
“We will move swiftly and aggressively against those who resist, we will treat others with decency, demonstrating chivalry and soldierly compassion for people who have endured a lifetime under Saddam’s oppression. You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon."
Granted, it's not the "bow and apologize to everyone" diplomacy that we've seen over the last 8 years. But, it is diplomacy. In my opinion, the right kind.
Oh, and he said this when asked about why he banned unnecessary briefings under his command. “PowerPoint makes us stupid.”
A man after my own heart, this one is.

Quoted for awesomeness.
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9 hours ago, Ho Lee Fuk said:

It doesn't surprise me that Mattis is against torture.  He's a man of dignity, and always reminded Marines to "keep their honor clean."  It's just too bad he had to use terms that Trump could understand, (i.e. the effectiveness of torture) to denounce it rather than explaining that torturing humans is ethically wrong.  

On another note, Mattis is awesome and universally revered as a military leader, but it concerns me that he would need a Congressional waiver to be nominated. 

If a crisis occurs, who would be in the situation room with Trump?  The NSA, ...a 3-star who's only been out of the military for 2 years, the SecDEF, ...a 4-star who's only been out of the military for 3 years, and the CJCS, ...an acting 4-star.   

Those appointments are supposed to be complementary.  They're supposed to balance each other.  In a room with three guys that have 114 combined years of active duty service, what's the chance that the solution to the crisis ends up being diplomatic versus military?  I don't know.  

There have been a couple former Generals in recent history that have served as NSA.  There's been one other General to become SecDEF (George Marshall), so it's not like there's no precedent.  But to me it's cause for concern.  For a civilian-led military, Trump sure is filling the cabinet with a lot of brass.  

In fairness, I would expect the Secretary of State to be in the room as well.

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9 hours ago, Ho Lee Fuk said:

It doesn't surprise me that Mattis is against torture.  He's a man of dignity, and always reminded Marines to "keep their honor clean."  It's just too bad he had to use terms that Trump could understand, (i.e. the effectiveness of torture) to denounce it rather than explaining that torturing humans is ethically wrong.  

On another note, Mattis is awesome and universally revered as a military leader, but it concerns me that he would need a Congressional waiver to be nominated. 

If a crisis occurs, who would be in the situation room with Trump?  The NSA, ...a 3-star who's only been out of the military for 2 years, the SecDEF, ...a 4-star who's only been out of the military for 3 years, and the CJCS, ...an acting 4-star.   

Those appointments are supposed to be complementary.  They're supposed to balance each other.  In a room with three guys that have 114 combined years of active duty service, what's the chance that the solution to the crisis ends up being diplomatic versus military?  I don't know.  

There have been a couple former Generals in recent history that have served as NSA.  There's been one other General to become SecDEF (George Marshall), so it's not like there's no precedent.  But to me it's cause for concern.  For a civilian-led military, Trump sure is filling the cabinet with a lot of brass.  

On the other hand would it be better to have guys who know what a dead 18 year old looks like instead of all chickenhawks ,neocons and east coast elitists who have never served. VP Pence son is a Marine, I believe having skin the game comes a new way of thinking.

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6 hours ago, Prosuper said:

On the other hand would it be better to have guys who know what a dead 18 year old looks like instead of all chickenhawks ,neocons and east coast elitists who have never served. VP Pence son is a Marine, I believe having skin the game comes a new way of thinking.

I think that about nails it.  All those men/women know what it's like to write the letters.  I'll take my chances with them at the helm versus some academia shithead who doesn't know the first thing about the repercussions but has an itchy trigger finger.  

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11 hours ago, Prosuper said:

 

Haven't watched SNL in a looong time because they mainly weren't funny and rarely applied their smarmy humor toward the left.

This was both amusing and skewered the left.

Maybe they can learn that funny/stupid/ironic applies to both ends of the political spectrum.

Not optimistic given their lack of taking advantage of most of the openings the current administration has given for political satire, but just maybe...

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Changed my voter registration today.  Below is the crotchety old man letter I am sending to the National and State Republican organizations:

 

Dear RNC and Nevada Republican Party, 

Today, 26 November 2016, I dropped my affiliation with the Republican Party.  I have been a member since my first vote in 1984.

From 2000-2008, George W. Bush vastly increased the size and scope of the federal government.  In 2008, John McCain ran a clown-show of a campaign for President.  In 2012, Mitt Romney would not take the many opportunities presented to put away Barack Obama.  And still I supported the party and, therefore, them.

I am dropping my membership because of the shocking and disloyal behavior of many prominent members of the party during the 2016 Presidential race as well as the vocal #neverTrump supporters within the establishment. 

Donald Trump was far from a good candidate yet he handily defeated 16 other GOP candidates according to the existing rules for winning the nomination. 

Yet, having done so, many leading GOP officials actively worked for his defeat.  To wit:

Sen John McCain

Sen Ben Sasse

Sen Lindsey Graham

Sen Jeff Flake

For Nevada, please add in failed Senate candidate Heck.  His narrow loss was, in my opinion, entirely due to his abandonment of then candidate Trump in the closing weeks of the campaign.  People expect and value loyalty.  Soon to be former Congressman Heck showed he had none.  Hypocritically, he withdrew his support over the now-infamous remarks on a bus, but has had a long and distinguished military career around and leading soldiers.  For CM Heck to suddenly develop the ‘vapors’ over Trump’s remarks was absurd and was directly responsible for his loss. 

For the four listed senators, except for McCain who most likely won’t run again, I will actively support any and all challengers to them in in the primaries, to include financially.  If they want to be Democrats, then defect and join the party to which they’d be most at home.

Please do not contact me in the future for any support.

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Happy to have Mattis taking the helm.  I hope he can inspire both our military and civilian leadership to return us to our warfighting roots.  One of my favorite Mattis-ism's below.

http://www.strifeblog.org/2013/05/07/with-rifle-and-bibliography-general-mattis-on-professional-reading/

"Going into Kuwait 12 years ago, I read (and reread) Rommel’s Papers (remember “Kampstaffel”?), Montgomery’s book (“Eyes Officers”…), “Grant Takes Command” (need for commanders to get along, “commanders’ relationships” being more important than “command relationships”), and some others. As a result, the enemy has paid when I had the opportunity to go against them, and I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn’t waste their lives because I didn’t have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields."

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