News Thread

[deepdarkblue]

The USA spends about $7.5 billion a year on strictly missile defense. If that's not enough to protect us from North Korea, we should be blown up. In failing to stop a missile attack from a third world country, the US would prove itself to be intellectually inferior and thus deserving of extinction.
Hopefully China will step in and rebuild. It may even get us out of our manufacturing malaise.

 

[sjsj2448]

The "Who cares if SK and Japan get destroyed, we can just rebuild them." line of thinking is maybe one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard. Just fucking pathetic and gross.

I didn't say I didn't care. It's obviously awful and I wish there were alternatives. And we will have to do our best to minimize the damage. THAAD will help with that.

 

[sjsj2448]

It is completely absurd to talk about rebuilding North Korea as evidenced by our fruitless efforts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. We've been at war for 16 straight years with fucking nothing to show for it. Bombs won't fix N Korea any more than they've "fixed" Syria.

If Trump were truly interested in Governing to what he campaigned on, he would rebuild this country's roads and schools and bildings like he pledged to.

Preemptive strikes have gotten us mired in a 2 decade long disaster in the Middle East that is destroying our combat readiness, crippling 2 generations of Veterans, over taxing our VA Hospitals and draining our treasury. It's a huge fucking waste.

We sure rebuilt Japan just fine. You've got to wonder what the big difference is (or not). We are a reluctant superpower. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't really wars. I mean, what's the objective there? I agree with you that Iraq and Afghanistan have been huge wastes. We should have never gone into either. Should have hunted bin Laden down like the Mossad would have and been done with it.

 

[ZackM]

The "Who cares if SK and Japan get destroyed, we can just rebuild them." line of thinking is maybe one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard. Just fucking pathetic and gross.

I didn't say I didn't care. It's obviously awful and I wish there were alternatives. And we will have to do our best to minimize the damage. THAAD will help with that.

Yes...If only we had an alternative to preemptively striking a shithole and sacrificing two of our allies. Unfortunately it's literally our only option. Thanks, Obama!

 

[deepdarkblue]

BIG YARD SALE! SHOP EARLY FOR BEST SELECTIONS!!

 

[Topher]

It is completely absurd to talk about rebuilding North Korea as evidenced by our fruitless efforts to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. We've been at war for 16 straight years with fucking nothing to show for it. Bombs won't fix N Korea any more than they've "fixed" Syria.

If Trump were truly interested in Governing to what he campaigned on, he would rebuild this country's roads and schools and bildings like he pledged to.

Preemptive strikes have gotten us mired in a 2 decade long disaster in the Middle East that is destroying our combat readiness, crippling 2 generations of Veterans, over taxing our VA Hospitals and draining our treasury. It's a huge fucking waste.

We sure rebuilt Japan just fine. You've got to wonder what the big difference is (or not). We are a reluctant superpower. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't really wars. I mean, what's the objective there? I agree with you that Iraq and Afghanistan have been huge wastes. We should have never gone into either. Should have hunted bin Laden down like the Mossad would have and been done with it.

Please go tell this to an Iraqi war veteran. I fucking dare you.

 

[sjsj2448]

Please go tell this to an Iraqi war veteran. I fucking dare you.

Smart military guys know they're fighting with their hands tied behind their backs. And they are not fighting a military- they are fighting bands of guerrillas who use civilians as shields. And of course it's bad from an individual perspective. I'm talking about real deal Holyfield type existential wars from a macro perspective. Around 1 million men died at the Somme and Verdun- each. Those are two battles. Industrial power versus industrial power. How many have died in all the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan combined? Maybe 7,000? The USA could have vaporized Iraq in a matter of minutes if it wanted to, but that wouldn't have been politically feasible. There are no "politics" in true all-out war. So spare me the condescension and aggression from your ivory tower.

 

[Topher]

Like I said, come and tell some of my friends they weren't in a war. Keep living in your sheltered bubble and ignore the realities of our global society, pretentious cunt.

 

[sivartrenrag]

It's cute that someone talking about "ivory towers" is excluding civilian deaths from his body counts. You have such a rosy view of war. It's all so neat and easy - just vaporize 'em!

 

[rhfarmer]

Yeah, I think estimates of a million civilian deaths in Irag are reasonable.

Also, comparing "real wars" like WW2, where the Air Forces flew prop planes, and there were still cavalry on horses to modern warfare is silly. The capacity to kill is far more sophisticated now. Just using conventional weapons, the US could vaporize the planet many times over. Like, what is the point of comparing trench warfare in the '40's to now as a measure of if something is war or not? Absurd.

 

[JohaadDBC]

To gauge whether something is a war or not, just ask yourself if it looks like Saving Private Ryan. If it does, it's a war. If it doesn't, it's nothing to get in a huff about.

 

[aiw]

It's cute that someone talking about "ivory towers" is excluding civilian deaths from his body counts. You have such a rosy view of war. It's all so neat and easy - just vaporize 'em!

The person that is talking about ivory towers is actually in school and plans to go to grad school to get a job that, at its peak, will end up with them in an ivory tower.

 

[Topher]

Gotta love those using "ivory tower" as an insult when they voted for a dude who literally lived in a golden tower in Manhattan.

 

[sjsj2448]

Gotta love those using "ivory tower" as an insult when they voted for a dude who literally lived in a golden tower in Manhattan.

I didn't vote for Donald. I would have been tempted until he teamed up with a lizard like Mike Pence. Upon the announcement of his candidacy, I was hoping Trump would surround himself with elites in an American version of the Ministry of All The Talents, but I was wrong. Michael Bloomberg was the billionaire Manhattanite we needed.

 

[aiw]

Donald Trump is from Queens

 

[rhfarmer]

Don't let facts get in the way of Axes' trolling, aiw.

 

[sjsj2448]

Lol. I know Donald is from Queens but he has lived on 5th Avenue for what, 30 years? Manhattanite, IMO.

And farmer, I am not trolling. I understand why you'd think that, though. In the modern American political context, my social views are far left and my views on the economy and military are far right.

 

[rhfarmer]

If what you say is accurate, your views are almost certain to conflict with one another. If you are socially left, your economic views would likely support your left leanings. Also, if you are far right for military, how would you reconcile gay or transgender service members, which a socially liberal person typically would be supportive of, but a far right leaning person typically would not?

Your views have inherent conflicts that suggest that you don't really think them through.

 

[uncy12]

Speaking of 5th Ave, I was there yesterday for protests. That was a shit show

 

[sjsj2448]

If what you say is accurate, your views are almost certain to conflict with one another. If you are socially left, your economic views would likely support your left leanings. Also, if you are far right for military, how would you reconcile gay or transgender service members, which a socially liberal person typically would be supportive of, but a far right leaning person typically would not?

Your views have inherent conflicts that suggest that you don't really think them through.

I have absolutely no problem with gay or transgender service members. As a matter of fact, I wish we had more gay and transgender military members. That would really stick a finger in the eyes of the religious zealots in the Middle East. Anyhow, I consider that a social component of the military, not a "military" aspect of the military, if that makes sense- maybe it would make more sense if I said I were geopolitically far right?

I don't understand what you are trying to say in the bolded portion of your post.

Here's what I am: I have a great affinity for the Enlightenment. I am for freedom of religion (although I am not religious), speech, press, assembly, the right to petition, separation of church and state, checks and balances, free market economics, generally limited government, the freedom to own and use guns, social mobility, and private property rights. I detest the religious right and the socialists on the left, as I deem both noxious to the republic for different reasons. I'm essentially for everything the U.S. was founded upon outside of the utterly abhorrent institution of slavery and the lack of women's and LGBTQ rights. Of course there is nuance to all those things (I believe in The Fed, FDA, FDIC, etc) and more nuance to some than others, but that's a good synopsis.