ViperMan
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Posts posted by ViperMan
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The whole "trans" issue breaks down along two lines.
The first category is a mental (or emotional) disorder. In these cases, it doesn't matter what age you are. Less than 18, over 18, who gives a shit. If you are a person who actually perceives yourself to be a different sex than what you are, that is a mental issue of some form. Period. In this case, there is no circumstance in which "consent" can be obtained or given. So no surgery or other so-called form of treatment not specifically aimed to mitigate the mental component of the problem is appropriate.
The second is a smaller category of people who are of sound mind but who derive some sort of sexual gratification from presenting or "transforming" themselves into a semblance of the opposite sex. If these people want to obtain genital plastic surgery, then yeah, sure, fine. More power to them.
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This was, is, and should be seen as a propaganda victory for Hamas/Iran. This kid certainly had a few loose screws and I'm positive there were other warning signs that will become evident in the days that follow. Not sure what the fix is here. Maybe it's just an inevitable casualty in the new modern warfare we seem to be lurching towards.
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6 hours ago, nsplayr said:
Anyone who thinks the USA is overly racist or that our government is a big offender for persecuting people due to political views or political speech…I highly encourage you to visit ::waives hands around wildly:: almost any other country.
What we were and what we have become is worse by almost every objective measure I can think of.
- Crime
- Social cohesion
- Life-span
- Cost of living
- Marriage rates
- Physical and mental health
and so on and so on...we're not improving, we're getting worse. So the answer to the question "is the glass half full or half empty" depends on whether or not it's leaking or being filled up. We're half-empty. And yeah, to address your point, yes, our government is more racist now than at anytime in my entire life - more than 40 years.
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A badass band. Lead singer was a previous AF dude. Don't know what he did offhand. Many of there songs deserve a listen at 11.
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You're describing my career exactly. Previous 62E. Late-to-rate. F-16s for approaching 18 years now. NBD.
I would say don't worry about becoming an asset to your unit. There's good pilots, ok pilots, shitty pilots, great pilots...you get the idea. Don't buy into the AF's idea that you need to go to UPT the day after you commission in order to be somebody, because it's not true now, nor was it ever. The AF's ideal model of career progression is obsolete to those who believe it is; so believe it's obsolete, and it will be. Get 4ucked with that staff-tour talk though...for realz.
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7 hours ago, Smokin said:
I also think Putin is too smart to give us anything that we could actually learn from.
Good thing you outsmarted him by not watching it then.
7 hours ago, Smokin said:I would have had an issue with a US reporter interviewing him. Maybe I'm making an unnecessary distinction, but there is a difference between listening/learning and doing something to gives an enemy a platform that they will use to their advantage.
So no one from "our side" should ever go figure out what the other side wants? By talking to them? By hearing what they have to say?
Like, seriously Clark?
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7 hours ago, HeloDude said:
I don’t understand why the AF needs to do this to fix their problems when they can just continue to implement DEI programs instead 🤷♂️
Yeeeeaaaaaah, I thought the whole purpose of DEI was this notion that there were massive sources of untapped talent out there just waiting to be accessed...a veritable HR gold rush if you will.
Am I to believe it's not going as expected???
Nothing says diversity quite like hiring back the same people who already worked here once upon a time.
🤣🤣🤣
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9 hours ago, gearhog said:
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?
When I was 20 it was cynical; now that I'm 40+, it's an opinion informed by years of experience and observation. And no, I don't want them becoming involved. I think you should have skin in the game if you are going to have a say in the direction our government takes. I would support disallowing voting for people who are not net tax contributors. But alas, I'm not king. And before you jump ahead, no I don't think that's the optimal solution - the better outcome is to have an informed public, and a system that people feel they contribute to, but also feel like they get something from - but we frankly don't have that at this juncture in our history. I lament that fact, but it's where we are.
9 hours ago, gearhog said: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?
Maybe. But every time I look to our "news" sites, I don't see any meaningful discussion or analysis. I perpetually have to go out of my way to find alternative media, podcasts, historians, etc. to find any meaningful discussion about what is taking place in the world. At the very least, Tucker is attempting to talk about an important subject that is mostly ignored by our media. In that dimension he has them objectively and unequivocally bested.
Secondly, there have been numerous, intelligent critiques of all the pro-Putin propaganda posted on this very forum. People hear what they want to hear. What I've become most aware of recently is that people choose sides. They are not necessarily amenable to fact, reason, or logic. I have chosen mine, but I at least like to think that it is informed by fact, and more importantly, if there is a fact that is presented that doesn't square with my world view, I either adjust my viewpoint or attempt to refute or contextualize the fact - many do not feel that impulse. If Tucker (who I alternate between liking, hating, and going "really???") is able to get people talking about or paying attention to an important issue, then he is doing our country a service, period.
My core point is this: if you don't think people are smart enough to recognize propaganda, then we need to find a way to make it obvious. The instant you tell someone that they aren't smart enough to make a decision for themselves you are making them think you're hiding something from them and unwittingly increasing the likelihood that the propaganda you seek to hide becomes seen as something legitimate because it was worth hiding. Full transparency is the best prevention.
9 hours ago, gearhog said: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.
For the record, Assange is a misguided idiot; Snowden is a Russian sock-puppet. Neither should ever see the light of day again; Snowden should hang.
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3 hours ago, gearhog said:
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.
In order to believe this you have to believe either one of two things:
1. That our media apparatus is a propaganda tool.
(or)
2. That the American public is too stupid to see through Putin's BS.
Note: both of those are likely (partially) true.
28 minutes ago, gearhog said: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?
Oh, there we go. So you have misidentified the root problem here. The problem isn't with the American public hearing a foreign leader's voice - it's that the American public is too stupid to differentiate truth from fiction.
I'll just say one thing. There are plenty on this board who have never heard this interview, and yet, still, come out on the side of Putin/Russia. They have found other talking points from other outlets or other corners of the internet/pod universe that align with their worldview and have used it to reinforce it or support it in one way or another. So your lamentation that this is going to somehow be causative for some unforeseen catastrophe is a non-starter. People who want to believe Putin's propaganda have already found it, and already do.
I'd rather hear it from the horse's mouth, and then listen to other smart people analytically pick it apart and tell us why it's wrong, rather than trust the PTB to protect us from some dude's opinion.
What I personally find far more interesting is why everyone else in a powerful position is so worried that a (truly) alternate view is going to find a platform. That says something far more interesting and, frankly, concerning.
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4 hours ago, Spoo said:
You may have found it humorous, the rest of us were terrified. I still have no idea why Big Blue thought it was a good idea to bring back a UPT 65-14 grad.
Copy shot!
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21 hours ago, tac airlifter said:
Fuck Iran, they are a paper tiger and we need to show teeth.
100%. They would collapse - and I mean collapse - after about four days of full onslaught.
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On 1/26/2024 at 11:52 AM, Waingro said:
🤣 I'd almost forgotten about the recession that was always just around the corner.
Legitimate congrats on the contracts and the profit sharing, gents!
Yes. The rich get richer. Congrats to you and me.
Go buy a house.
Go look at the labor participation rate.
Go look at a plot of the SP500 index without the "Magnificent 7" or the "AI 5" incorporated...it's illuminating.
Tech is laying all kinds of people off. So are news rooms. So are banks.-
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2 hours ago, Biff_T said:
Put it all in on a brand new red Corvette! Tell the ladies you're a pilot and let the rest fall into place.If someone tells you the above statement, don't listen to them. The dudes above know what to do with money. Chicks who will bang you for you red Corvette will give you herpes. 😉 I wish had that advice earlier in life.Put it all on black.
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1 hour ago, Bigred said:
It’s the ultimate catch-22. Lodging jacked up prices to offset expenses but now the normal traveler that would go on base to save money (retiree, PCS folks, etc) go off base for the same cost and better facilities. The on base activities can’t fund themselves and usually can’t get funding to upgrade to match off base activities.
This.
I remember not that long ago, a room could be had on base for like $39 - no shit - then, almost overnight, it seemed like prices shot up 3X. It made absolutely no sense and made it so that you might as well just stay off base and get the points and better facilities.
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Months ago, I had written off Vivek Ramaswamy because of some positions on foreign policy. Though I think he still needs to refine his aim a bit on some of those topics, I am now re-visiting that position. The guy is fire.
As far as his aim is concerned with regard to "the media" and the culture war, he directly over the target.
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10 hours ago, HeloDude said:
You obviously didn’t look very hard…aren’t you a comm/cyber guy?
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I predict SCOTUS disagrees.
If/when they do, I'll re-engage with another "I was right and you were wrong" post.
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1 hour ago, Sua Sponte said:
Who said we don’t want to participate in an election? The CO Supreme Court just held to disqualify a candidate via our state election laws.
Your state did.
When your state's Supreme Court unilaterally determined that your states' electoral votes were going to de facto be given to Joe Biden - thereby undermining the very purpose of our national election system and usurping other states' (and the national) election processes. Just try this though experiment: imagine Arizona and Wisconsin "disqualified" Joe Biden from their ballots "according to their state election laws"...blah blah blah. You know as well as I do there would be absolute pandemonium from the MSNBC crowd...which should tell you something is sideways.
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The solution I'd like to see is CO electoral votes just get tossed. Sorry...you don't want to participate in the election? Fine, your 10 votes are null. See you in 4 years.
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On 12/16/2023 at 8:59 AM, DSG said:
Few people contribute anything of value to society as it is. I don't know that hypothetical draft dodgers should be singled out in that sense.
I didn't say we don't need to make manifold other changes...
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17 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:
What a fucking idiot. Hopefully, his line number disappears and he can go cry into retirement.
Amen. It's a concerning indictment that our system promotes dudes like this, or at least let him slip *up* through the cracks to such a high-profile position as the vice superintendent of the Air Force Academy. This guy is anything but a role-model.
His article shows how thoroughly and wholly his thinking has consumed an explicitly racist ideology. That he is unable to see it would be extremely concerning to me if I was serving under him. His intentional and repeated use of 'white/Black' fell in lock-step with the racial crusaders' recommended use of the English language circa 2020:
QuoteDefensiveness is a predictable response by white people to any discussion...
...meeting with other white colonels, I drew attention to the reality that racial tension remains an important issue to address, after another Black man was killed by police...
A white colonel then brought up his concerns with the way a Black officer on the base...
A white colonel worried that a wing-level discussion about the disproportionate rate of Article 15s given to Black Airmen would have a chilling effect...
A white colonel raised his disagreement with a Black senior enlisted leader’s story of being offered an Article 15 for his boisterous...
When the Black enlisted leader told the story, he was the only Black person...
There's plenty more. It's a good thing this guy is currently side-lined, and I can only hope he never gets to wear a star. Tommy Tuberville, if you're reading this, you go girl. Airmen who served under him deserved better, and future airmen who would still do. Must be a pain for everyone around him that they had to work for someone so dumb.
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41 minutes ago, uhhello said:
What's wild is how easy it is to lose weight when you're that fat. Eat a little less and go for a walk once a day and they'll lose 30-50 pounds really quick.
Walking is the single most healthy and easiest exercise their is. It is not hard to walk multiple miles a day, yet we need pills and other shortcuts to solve what are truly simple problems. It's amazing to me what we've deceived ourselves into believing.
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14 hours ago, HeloDude said:
Depends who owns the land that someone is throwing their trash on. If you own the land, then sure, why not? If it’s not my land, then I need to respect the rules for whoever owns the land. But pretty far stretch to bring up littering when others on here don’t have a problem with sending people to die in war against their will or putting citizens in prison just because of their ethnic backgrounds.
Easy solution? If you get conscripted you can turn it down, but you have to leave the country and forfeit your citizenship. No free lunch. If you want to be a part of society, you have to play. You don't get to continue being a citizen in the country to which you are unwilling to provide a service to.
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On 12/14/2023 at 9:41 AM, HeloDude said:
What I find hilarious is how the “everyone is a victim” crowd says it’s not their fault for being obese, it’s hereditary, on medication, blah blah blah. Take a look at obesity rates from 50+ years ago…how much did generics change in that amount of time? Also, look at obesity rates overseas…how different are their genetics on the whole compared to ours?
Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with genetics. It's a simple energy conservation problem from Physics 101. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. Fats who want to convince me they're fat because of genetics are asking me to believe a conspiracy theory.
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WTF? (**NSFW**)
in Squadron Bar
Posted
This line of reasoning / justification is retarded.
Society imposes innumerable restrictions to prevent individuals from hurting themselves, and beyond that, there are numerous other safety nets to prevent people from damaging themselves in permanent ways due to mental issues because we have decided that human life has innate value...but I suppose you're comfortable with all the service-related suicides that occur each and every day?
This decision entails certain consequences, among them, that you don't allow mentally damaged (healing) people to destroy themselves. Many (most) people who suffer from this ailment return to normal if given the time, space, and opportunity. That's why.