I’m sorry I didn’t upload this before, if there are some amongst you who want to discuss the, er, situation. I have been obsessing about this election for months now and I think that now we’re here I find I’m too anxious to watch the returns coming in as a Trump victory would be the biggest disaster for this country since, I dunno, the civil war? I took a peek at Twitter about twenty minutes ago (I refuse to use its other name) and the people I follow are all sounding very gloomy and now I’m more tense and scared than I have ever been about this election. The Russian bomb threats aren’t helping the situation. I don’t know if I’ll even check the news again tonight (who am I kidding, I will) but if you guys feel like chatting here’s a place to do it.
@Elaine the witch:
I’ve been autistic for longer than the Muskrat (if in fact he is), and I’m pretty sure the only contexts in which I’ve ever made That Gesture are:
(A) sarcastically to TV characters I regarded as annoyingly authoritarian, and
(B) at age 11, when I was playing Colonel Klink in an extremely homemade Hogan’s Heroes fanfilm shot on 8mm at the local park.
@Elaine,
Ugh. Though I am curious about what he thinks about some of the other recent moves by the current government. Like, is he supportive of the unelected and unvetted Musk and his (also unelected and unvetted) Teenaged Edgelord Troll Brigade having unlimited access to the entire US Government money system? Does he support the new head of the Defense Department, who has no experience on how and why things are done in the Military, let alone the rest of Trump’s idiotic pics? The zillion and a half Executive Orders essentially dismantling all progress made towards equality for everyone in less than a month, not to mention the scrubbing off of government websites anything that has so much of a whiff of DEI and LGBT+ on it? The answers to those questions may give you an idea of how deep into this new(ish) status quo he is, and if he can be saved from it.
Meanwhile, something completely different. A couple of links I stumbled across recently to help folks survive the coming years. First is a survival guide done as a roleplay supplement. I haven’t read it yet but it did seem interesting.
https://survivethetyrant.infy.uk/?i=2
This one is a list of actions to help improve their communities in defiance of what the current government and Church of Trump wants for everyone.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OSWxykA1WHOi0vTPLAJDaCeVhR3uSfh7PhlCj4t4yT0/mobilebasic
Hopefully these are of use to folks here.
@ redsilkphoenix
In fairness Hegseth served three tours, including two combat tours. He has a number of decorations including the Bronze Star. They aren’t handed out lightly.
Whatever people may think of his politics, personally I like the idea of SecDef being someone who has had his ass in the grass.
I’m not sure it’s fair to criticise his appointment and say the role should be reserved for generals or other senior staff officers. I mean, who would be better as labour secretary, someone who has worked on the shop floor, or CEO of a major business?
So, whilst there’s plenty to criticise in the new administration, I’m not sure this is the most worrying appointment.
Totally agree with you on your other points though. Especially letting 4Chan run the Treasury.
@Alan Robertshaw
A SecDef shouldn’t have a drinking problem. I’m not going to claim that all SecDefs have been sober, but when you have a SecDef candidate who says he’ll stop drinking if he gets the job, that’s a good argument for not giving him the job.
I agree the Bronze Star is worth noting – I had a professor who had one of those plus a Silver Star (USMC) – but it’s not enough to overrule alcoholism or the rumors (to put in mildly) of financial irregularity/irresponsibility.
Take Lloyd Austin, who was SecDef under Biden. Airborne and Ranger training. Served on domestic bases as well as overseas, including a little country called Afghanistan and another one called Iraq. He has led combat missions. He’s got a chestful of medals, including the Silver Star.
To go from a SecDef with a Ranger tab to one with a bar tab gives me the heebie-jeebies.
@ Vicky P
Mind if I steal that?
I appreciate that “If you give me access to the nuclear arsenal I’ll cut down on the drinking” on the face of it isn’t the best thing to say in an interview.
Maybe it’s a Brit thing though, but I just don’t have a problem with people drinking. Churchill was famously hammered for pretty much the whole of WW2. Some of the most competent people I know are drinkers or addicts so it’s just not an issue for me. Although I can understand why people may very much disagree with that.
I’m less concerned with how someone manages the military than what the commander in chief may do with the military. Some worrying implications for NATO potentially.
@Alan Robertshaw
I was raised Methodist, so admittedly that’s a very different culture when it comes to alcohol – though as a footnote to the footnote, both my parents were social drinkers as long as my grandparents didn’t find out. 😉 I would still enjoy a glass of wine these days if other health issues didn’t mean I’d be putting myself at risk.
If Hegseth were a social drinker, I wouldn’t have a problem with him. But if the rumors (aka “reports from people who spoke under condition of anonymity”) are true, his drinking got in the way of him being able to do his job at Fox News, which isn’t as big a deal as the job in Defense. That does concern me, much as I’d worry about a surgeon or a nurse or a physician with alcoholism; unfortunately, I’ve known or known of fellow health professionals who couldn’t stick to a manageable level of drinking.
Yes, you can steal the Ranger tab/bar tab joke. 😉
Though that circles back to his money management issues I alluded to earlier – “the rumors (to put in mildly) of financial irregularity/irresponsibility.” Not a good look for someone who’ll be in charge of a huge percentage of the federal budget, especially given that the Department of Defense doesn’t exactly have a history of passing audits.
In general I think my country is better off when a POTUS appoints people who will push back if they think the POTUS is going to do something stupid. I don’t see that in Hegseth. Right now the only Cabinet member I would rank as “not too bad” is Marco Rubio, and I still think he’s an idjit.
@ Vicky P
It would be ironic if the path to world peace was that the militaries were all just run by a kleptocracy, so that they just embezzled the functionality out of it.
I am fairly convinced that the Russian nuclear arsenal is probably barely functional now. It’s just such an obvious candidate for theft. Must confess, if I was prime minister I’d probably divert all the Trident budget. I mean, how would anyone ever know? I have a friend who works in nuclear proliferation intelligence. I asked him whether he thought Russia’s nuclear assets were still in play but it’s the one thing he won’t talk about.
@ Vicky P
Now I’m reminded of this…
@Alan Robershaw
Ha!
Over on BlueSky, our new SecDef is getting dragged by historians (amateur and professional). Seems that Hegseth thinks physical fitness is more important than anything else, and bureaucracy just gets in the way.
The thread begins here – https://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.social/post/3lhw7p4ytus2t – and involves a lot of folks talking about how skills learned in the military were leveraged in civilian life and vice versa.
The Netflix original movie The Six Triple Eight tells the story of the Black WAC who got the mail delivered and how that helped raise morale. I saw the film a few weeks back, and while I had some issues with how the story was told (I thought they needed more time to let the story breathe and would’ve welcomed a 2- or 3-part mini-series), I enjoyed it. It really is those little things that add up to make things work, whether you’re talking about the military, industry, government, or healthcare.
And now we have an administration that pretends women’s work is worthless unless it’s related to children, cooking, or church.
I just wanted to say that today’s daily puzzle on my jigsaw puzzle app is…
CAPYBARA!
I really LOL (sitting by myself) and thought of all of you. Especial regards to Capybarrister.
We all need something to smile about.
@ Vicky P
I used to do some lecturing for the MOD. Mainly environmental law. This was at a place called the Specialist Training School. They taught all sorts of stuff. But for 12 quid you could convert your military certificates into the equivalent civvie ones. I used to ask the classes (on a no names no pack drill basis):
Who is here because they want to be?
Who is here because they’ve been ordered to?
Who is here because they’re planning on quitting and just want to get some qualifications on the King’s Shilling?
One bloke has been there for over a year and done every course.
@ GSS Ex-Noob
A very lovely client has just sent me some presents. Including a Sherlock Homes duck!
https://imgur.com/a/ZUQPwA0
I’ll have a competition on the videos to come up with a name.
Anyone proposing ‘Ducky McDuckface’ will be disqualified.
A detective duck? “Drake McFeathers” springs to mind.
@Alan Robertshaw:
A very lovely client has just sent me some presents. Including a Sherlock Homes duck!
https://imgur.com/a/ZUQPwA0
I’ll have a competition on the videos to come up with a name.
Anyone proposing ‘Ducky McDuckface’ will be disqualified.
How about Sexton Drake?