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GovernmentMan

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Posts posted by GovernmentMan

    SCOTUS scraps DOMA

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted · Edited by GovernmentMan

    The only downside I really see to having multiple wives is having multiple mothers-in-law. ###### that!

    That's why your best bet is to marry twins. Or triplets. :bellydancer: :bellydancer: :bellydancer:

    Incidentally, nobody in this thread (that I recall) has brought up the possibility that the only reason Mosaic law banned homosexuality was because it meant fewer babies. When those laws were written, Israel was a young, militant nation that needed tons of new soldiers to help them conquer and hold a relatively large chunk of land. In that context, if you weren't cranking out babies/soldiers, you were practically handing everybody else's hard-fought victories to the enemies. No wonder they made gay sex punishable by death.

    Fast forward 4000 years (and 7 billion people), and we have the opposite problem: too many people and too little space to put them. Still, a disturbing number of people hold onto the notion that having a "full quiver" (lots of kids) is one of their greatest religious responsibilities.

    SCOTUS scraps DOMA

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    The comparisons between homosexuality and pedophilia are idiotic. I contend that yes, both occur in nature. ...So what's your point? ....Why do we allow/advocate for one but not the other? Pedophilia victimizes someone, in horrible ways. Consensual homosexuality among adults victimizes no one. Is that hard to figure out?

    Even in the US, this concept is not as timeless as a lot of people think. Biology advocates "if there's grass on the field, play ball." We choose to override that for a number of valid, practical reasons. Not too terribly long ago some states *cough, cough* Arkansas *cough* placed the age of consent at 10. I don't see many respectable people beating down the courthouse doors to restore that particular aspect of "traditional values".

    SCOTUS scraps DOMA

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Good god this will wreak havoc on determining BAH entitlements and other "dependent" related entitlements. I've not seen any changes to the entitlement REGs but no DOD is going to have a tough time--an you thought the REGs were tough to interpret now. I say we just get rid of any Dependent driven pay entitlements. Give one BAH rate and do away with the With or Without Dependent rates. Don't even get me started on FSA. Dig up history on the purpose of FSA(below) and I don't see how two dudes married to each other should qualify (the other dude can certainly handle yard or automotive work--you would hope). I guess the two dudes could adopt a child and that might fit FSA better. I don't really agree with Mil-to-Mil couples with no kids getting FSA either, but they do.

    This is just going to get messy and I'm not looking forward to the crap finance is about to be fed. Finance is going to need a legal read from JA on every "marriage" certificate once DOD determines what the hell they are going to do with entitlements.

    FSA:

    In 1963, Congress established the family separation allowance to help offset the additional expenses that may be incurred by the dependents of servicemembers who are away from their permanent duty station for more than 30 consecutive days. Additional expenses may include the costs associated with home repairs, automobile maintenance, and childcare that could have been performed by the deployed service member.

    http://www.gao.gov/a.../250/243126.pdf

    As a married, straight guy, I'll be the first to admit that "more money cuz you're married" is not really fair. Obviously, I won't campaign for it being shut down, but if it does eventually get removed (BAH w/ dependents, married filing jointly, etc.) I can't really put forth an ethical argument as to why it should be retained. A considerable number of emphasis is placed on giving married folks a break, so they can get on with the cranking out of babies. That worked pretty nicely during Manifest Destiny, but not so much these days. If you can't afford kids yet, then don't have kids yet. *cue the socialism/abortion slippery slope*

    SCOTUS scraps DOMA

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted · Edited by GovernmentMan

    It's interesting how when most people say "traditional values" what they mean is "the values that were prevalent when/where I was growing up." 1650s New England traditional values included keeping "witches" in their place. 1850s Southern traditional values included keeping the blacks in their place. 1950s traditional values included keeping women in their place. 2000s traditional values included keeping gays in their place. "Traditional values" are constantly changing, just like everything else.

    SCOTUS scraps DOMA

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Indifference is an excellent synonym for "lack of a spine".

    Deuteronomy 21:18-21 dictates that a "stubborn and rebellious" son be executed by his own friends and family.

    Exodus 22:18 commands that a "sorceress" not be permitted to live.

    Is everybody who ignores these laws (or considers them absurd/irrelevant) "spineless" as well? If nobody's moral compass ever strayed in the past 4000 years, that's exactly the legal/social environment we'd be in right now.

    • Upvote 1

    CV-22 Osprey info

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Bump. I heard talk about AFSOC having some kind of requirement to get ACs from other airframes. Anybody here know of AMC types getting transferred to the Osprey?

    The gig seemed interesting to me back when I was in UPT and it still seems interesting to me now. Only like 50-70% of us get to stay in the C-17 beyond our first assignment, and I'm trying to see what all would be practical if/when I have to move on.

    U-2 Dragonlady info

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    so can you guys just pack up any kind of liquid that you want in a special container with a really long straw?

    Uh...usually just urine, I'm guessing.

    Wait, are we talking about the same thing?

    But seriously, now I'm curious too. Can you pack whatever beverage you want?

    DoD "ready" for DADT repeal

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    Hell, I think the government shouldn't be in the marriage business in the first place...

    I agree, though that's easier said than done. From there, the argument switches to the tax perks of being married. What's the point of setting lower tax rates for married people? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it to make it easier for young couples to crank out more kids back in the days of Manifest Destiny? These days, it's a short hop to the part where environmentalists and economists rail against the people whose religion practically commands them to "be fruitful and multiply." Giant cans of worms that no politician wants to touch.

    Return of the orderly room?

    in Squadron Bar

    Posted

    At my base they basically have all of the shitty additional duties that nobody else in the OG wants to do. (Records management, forms and pubs, GPC, SVRO etc). They are also responsible for the OG sharepoint and all comm-related issues for the OG staff, which is their primary job. There are 4 SSgts assigned, although 1 or 2 are deployed at any given time. They work 12-hour days and receive zero praise. After talking to them, their jobs pretty much suck wherever they are assigned, and most of them try to cross-train.

    As a career field, they work in offices for O-6 and above folks doing basically anything that needs to be done, but primarily focusing on comm. If you have a GO in your office, you have knowledge ops.

    Pretty much this. I was KM for a number of years, and had 10+ additional duties at any given time. And FWIW Records Management is not an add'l duty...it's one of like 5 "core competencies" for that AFSC. As long as a sq has a 3D0 assigned, the RM program should not be jacked.

    C-17 Lands at Wrong Airport

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I like the out-of-the-box (sts) thinking, but that level of SA comes at a price and EMSEC isn't exactly a small factor in hostile airspace. Train like you fight and fight like you train.

    If we're in a situation where our survival depends on an EMSEC plan with such low tolerances (such that a BlueTooth device can betray our presence), then we have bigger problems.

    U-2 Dragonlady info

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    It looks like I will be at or near the hour requirement by the end of my current assignment. I really want to fly the U-2, but the timing might not work out. If it doesn't, I've been thinking of trying for an MC-12, then applying to the U-2 later.

    So here's my question: would it come off as kind of douchey to try for an MC-12, if my intent is to get a foot in the ISR door for a better shot at the Deuce? Are there other complications that this approach would introduce? Thanks for any advice.

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