The Sewer That Is The GOP: With All The White Supremacists, Conspiracy Nutters, And Other Malicious Whacko Subgroups, How Does It Get Fixed?

[skinsmarydu]

IF SOMEONE ELSE WINS, YOUR NATIONAL FLAG WILL BE DIFFERENT. 

 

See why we served? 

[Captain Wiggles]

The US military surplus sales for the year 2022 exceeded $50 billion. That's money that could be subsidizing wealthy corporate farmers and oil companies. 🤪

 

I don't mind paying for defense but a good chunk of the defense budget is basically jobs programs for rural areas and arms dealings with foreign nations. I'm not a big fan of say selling large quantities of weapons and equipment to say Saudi Arabia for example. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Captain Wiggles

[CobraCommander]

23 minutes ago, Captain Wiggles said:

The US military surplus sales for the year 2022 exceeded $50 billion. That's money that could be subsidizing wealthy corporate farmers and oil companies. 🤪

 

I don't mind paying for defense but a good chunk of the defense budget is basically jobs programs for rural areas and arms dealings with foreign nations. I'm not a big fan of say selling large quantities of weapons and equipment to say Saudi Arabia for example. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Well, I sure hope that you are an expert on such matters. Otherwise, your points are deemed invalid, and do not concern the real world.

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 hour ago, The Evil Genius said:

Defense dwarfs China..who is the current GOP boogeyman

 

Biden isn't exactly singing their praise.

Edited June 1, 2023 by TheGreatBuzz

[PleaseBlitz]

I think the point is that China is the closest thing we have to a rival, but we spend TRIPLE what they do on defense, and have been spending at that level for far longer.  So "rival" is  far too strong of a word.  

 

https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/jan/military-expenditures-how-top-spending-nations-compare#:~:text=All nations except China spent,9.6% over the same period.

 

Quote

The third figure traces the shares of military spending by the top six nations, except the U.S., relative to U.S. military spending. All nations except China spent less than a tenth of U.S. military spending in 2021, with China spending around a third of the U.S. level. Notably, the U.K.’s relative spending declined from 9.7% in 1992 to 8.1% in 2021, while India’s rose from 3.1% to 9.6% over the same period.

 

[Larry]

3 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I think the point is that China is the closest thing we have to a rival, but we spend TRIPLE what they do on defense, and have been spending at that level for far longer.  So "rival" is  far too strong of a word.  

 

And I think you don't measure your military's capabilities by bragging bout how much money you spent.  

 

[thegreaterbuzzette]

1 hour ago, CobraCommander said:

 

Private shipping companies can spend their own money on protecting their ships. 

 

Drug runners from other countries aren't my problem. Maybe we need to work on addiction issues here at home in order to slow this trade. Make drugs legal as far as I'm concerned. Make it safe for Americans and use the savings from military spending on helping those with addiction issues. See Portugal. 

 

Asia can police itself when it comes to human trafficking as far as I am concerned. I don't like it but I don't see why my tax dollars should go to combating this unless the issue is that they are being trafficked to America. How many ships get inspected at our ports? Spend the savings on checking incoming ships from Asia. Sounds like the majority of the trafficking is between Asian and Middle Eastern countries. 

 

I don't want to police the globe. I want a better life for Americans here at home, with my tax dollars going to help those people in all aspects of life including but not limited to education and healthcare. 

Just, wow, I haven’t read something so selfish or non-logic based in a really long time. 
 

So if the US just stopped “policing the world”, how long do you think your “better life for Americans here at home” would last?

 

What language would you like to speak, what flag would you be ok pledging allegiance to? What better health and education system do you think China or Russia is bringing you? Which of your female relatives are you most willing to share with the tyrants? 

[CobraCommander]

1 minute ago, thegreaterbuzzette said:

Just, wow, I haven’t read something so selfish or non-logic based in a really long time. 
 

So if the US just stopped “policing the world”, how long do you think your “better life for Americans here at home” would last?

 

What language would you like to speak, what flag would you be ok pledging allegiance to? What better health and education system do you think China or Russia is bringing you? Which of your female relatives are you most willing to share with the tyrants? 

Do you always fight your husband’s battles for him?

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 minute ago, CobraCommander said:

Do you always fight your husband’s battles for him?

 

Anyone seen my sandwich?

[thegreaterbuzzette]

5 minutes ago, CobraCommander said:

Do you always fight your husband’s battles for him?

Dafuuuuk? 
 

I can’t be a part of a conversation because my husband posted first?

 

what a sexists and further proof of your ignorance. 
 

at least I know you’d be the coward when the new nation came a’ knockin. “Take my mother, take my wife, leave me!”

 

 

**Buzzette has enetered the chat**

Edited June 1, 2023 by thegreaterbuzzette
Hit post too soon

[Larry]

2 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

It's really not though is it? A 2% (roughtly $16 billion) decrease means that role has to be given up? What about a 5% decrease (roughly $40 billion).

 

The DoD budget is untouchable in DC, thus it's more than likely full of projected expenses that don't have anything to do with accomplishing what you project us losing as a role. 

 

I'm obviously not an expert on this. Nor do I claim to be, but I think it's disingenuous to always leave the DoD out of the conversation when we are talking about budget cuts. 

 

2 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Yup.  And I've called it out.  Anyone can search for my post about the $30k walkie talkies.  But if you are calling for a major, systemic shift from us spending as much as our next 10 allies or whatever, then my basic question tells me if you're serious or not.

 

One of my perspectives on military spending comes from a little snippet I caught on TV, maybe 25 years ago.  

 

I had cable at the time.  Was clicking through channels, and went past C-SPAN.  

 

Guy in an Army uniform with 4 stars was sitting at a table covered with microphones, in a congressional hearing room.  

 

And he said "There's all the money we need in the defense budget, right now."  

 

That caught my attention, and I kept listening.  

 

It was the entire JCS, testifying to Congress about the budget that Clinton had just proposed, for the military.  

 

And what CJCS was saying was that the total amount being budgeted for Defense was enough, as is.  But he was saying that every year, Congress was insisting on spending billions of dollars on big ticket defense programs.  And taking the money out of things like personnel retention, training, and maintenance.  And that this shifting of the money is causing military readiness to suffer.  

 

I recall one of the board's more vocal military members relating stories saying that when a US aircraft carrier would return from a deployment, say to the Med, that the Navy was having to offload the ammunition from that carrier and transfer it to another carrier that was preparing to deploy.  Supposedly because the US did not have enough missiles to arm both carriers at once.  I would point out to him that his story, and my memories of that testimony, do not exactly conflict.  

 

 

[Bang]

17 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I think the point is that China is the closest thing we have to a rival, but we spend TRIPLE what they do on defense, and have been spending at that level for far longer.  So "rival" is  far too strong of a word.  

 

https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2023/jan/military-expenditures-how-top-spending-nations-compare#:~:text=All nations except China spent,9.6% over the same period.

 

 

We are behind in the cyber warfare aspects of things, and they have been working long and hard to disrupt the flow of information from our command (and it's political messiness) to the field.
The chosen battlefield will not be one that we will easily be able to defend after the initial volleys of shipkiller missiles, drone swarms and low orbit satellite hunters drive our Navy back beyond range of our strike fighters.
This isn't Afghanistan and Iraq where no one can shoot down our planes, Our airborne refueling will be disrupted, and it could literally be months before we can develop an effective force for a response. For them it's a hop skip over the water to Taiwan, and once ensconced they will be hard to get out. They don't really want anything else, so once they have it all of their resources will go into holding it. 
2027. This is when US intel anticipates it starting. And they aren't joking. 
I wouldn't underestimate any of this based on dollars and cents. 

 

~Bang

[TheGreatBuzz]

1 minute ago, Larry said:

recall one of the board's more vocal military members relating stories saying that when a US aircraft carrier would return from a deployment, say to the Med, that the Navy was having to offload the ammunition from that carrier and transfer it to another carrier that was preparing to deploy.  Supposedly because the US did not have enough missiles to arm both carriers at once.  I would point out to him that his story, and my memories of that testimony, do not exactly conflict.  

 

I'd just like to note that there is a lot more to the reason ships get unloaded coming in and leave it at that.

[Larry]

3 minutes ago, thegreaterbuzzette said:

Just, wow, I haven’t read something so selfish or non-logic based in a really long time. 
 

So if the US just stopped “policing the world”, how long do you think your “better life for Americans here at home” would last?

 

What language would you like to speak, what flag would you be ok pledging allegiance to? What better health and education system do you think China or Russia is bringing you? Which of your female relatives are you most willing to share with the tyrants? 

 

Just pointing out, 

 

If you want to call somebody out for being selfish and non-logical, maybe you shouldn't jump from his statement that the US maybe shouldn't police the world, to China conquering the US.  

[thegreaterbuzzette]

1 minute ago, Larry said:

 

Just pointing out, 

 

If you want to call somebody out for being selfish and non-logical, maybe you shouldn't jump from his statement that the US maybe shouldn't police the world, to China conquering the US.  

Just pointing out China and Russia were mentioned previously in this thread. I wasn’t the first to suggest them. Also, just pointing out that I had other questions asking which country he’d prefer took over America. Further pointing out - THATS the part you felt the need to question? 

[CobraCommander]

2 minutes ago, thegreaterbuzzette said:

Dafuuuuk? 
 

I can’t be a part of a conversation because my husband posted first?

 

what a sexists and further proof of your ignorance. 
 

at least I know you’d be the coward when the new nation came a’ knockin. “Take my mother, take my wife, leave me!”

You and your husband have accused me of a lot and called me a few names for my views in a short span of time.

 

If that makes you two feel better so be it.

[TheGreatBuzz]

3 minutes ago, CobraCommander said:

You and your husband have accused me of a lot and called me a few names for my views in a short span of time.

 

If that makes you two feel better so be it.

 

What name did I call you?

[Larry]

Just now, Bang said:

We are behind in the cyber warfare aspects of things, and they have been working long and hard to disrupt the flow of information from our command (and it's political messiness) to the field.
The chosen battlefield will not be one that we will easily be able to defend after the initial volleys of shipkiller missiles, drone swarms and low orbit satellite hunters drive our Navy back beyond range of our strike fighters.
This isn't Afghanistan and Iraq where no one can shoot down our planes, Our airborne refueling will be disrupted, and it could literally be months before we can develop an effective force for a response. For them it's a hop skip over the water to Taiwan, and once ensconced they will be hard to get out. They don't really want anything else, so once they have it all of their resources will go into holding it. 
2027. This is when US intel anticipates it starting. And they aren't joking. 
I wouldn't underestimate any of this based on dollars and cents. 

 

~Bang

 

Yeah, I would not for a moment underestimate the threat posed by China.  (And I think their actions indicate that they want a lot more than Taiwan.)  

 

I'll also say that frankly, I want the US to have the ability to project force, almost everywhere in the world.  (Yeah, I recognize that we'll probably never be able to project force into, say, Tibet.)  

 

Part of my reasoning that that somebody has to have the most powerful military at point X.  And I'd much rather it be us, than anybody else.  

 

(Yes, I'd be OK with us using it a lot less.)  

[thegreaterbuzzette]

3 minutes ago, CobraCommander said:

You and your husband have accused me of a lot and called me a few names for my views in a short span of time.

 

If that makes you two feel better so be it.

No clue who you are bud. Don’t recall any of that. But sure it was warranted if needed. 
 

anyway - care to respond to my actual questions or are you not here to explain your stance? 

[CobraCommander]

2 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

 

What name did I call you?

Well you did tell me to “be human” in regards to human trafficking. Not really name calling but admittedly doesn’t feel great. 

1 minute ago, thegreaterbuzzette said:

No clue who you are bud. Don’t recall any of that. But sure it was warranted if needed. 
 

anyway - care to respond to my actual questions or are you not here to explain your stance? 

No, I don’t care to. Respectfully.

 

Thank you both for your service. I can see I have no place here.

[TheGreatBuzz]

2 minutes ago, CobraCommander said:

Well you did tell me to “be human” in regards to human trafficking. Not really name calling but admittedly doesn’t feel great. 

 

Okay.  You can tap the 3 dots in the top right corner of your post to edit it if you feel so inclined.

 

Edit:  I gotta admit I feel a little snowflake energy here.

Edited June 1, 2023 by TheGreatBuzz

[thegreaterbuzzette]

1 minute ago, CobraCommander said:

Well you did tell me to “be human” in regards to human trafficking. Not really name calling but admittedly doesn’t feel great. 

No, I don’t care to. Respectfully.

 

Thank you both for your service. I can see I have no place here.

So you just admitted the use of hyperbole. This is why your conversation isn’t wanted here. Because you just throw out nonsense [read: lies], and hope they stick. 
 

We’d all love a smaller defense budget - but it’s more then just saying “cut the budget”. The how’s and where’s matter. You need substance to these arguments, not a catch phrase. 
—————

 

totally agree that we sucked at readiness for tech and cyber security. We are playing catch-up there. The sign up and retention bonuses were very large from what I’ve heard. 
 

 

at the end of the day, this needs to be done intentionally and methodically. Dropping the budget at random isn’t going to fix $800 office chairs for an entire data center (yup). 
 

I personally think we need to overhaul the govt contracting procedure. Make it easier for SMBs to bid and cut out all the $$$ that just goes to Rytheon and BAE CEOs. 

[EmirOfShmo]

And no back to our sponsors - The Sewer That Is The GOP: With All The White Supremacists, Conspiracy Nutters, And Other Malicious Whacko Subgroups

 

A late afternoon 2-fer...My gawd what has that woman done to her face? Bozo-vibes...

 

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by EmirOfShmo

[The Evil Genius]

[Bang]

Yes Sarah, it's just so horrible how they treat him, isn't it?

 

Honestly, her makeup person must just laugh themselves stupid when they cash their paycheck.


~Bang