This concern expressed over potential political use of the military, about politicizing the military, really boils down to one party and its base, and down to one man especially, and there is no both-sides critique available here. If you're worried that the military might be used inappropriately for political reasons on American citizens, I cannot begin to fathom how that scenario might unfold with Democrats in control, short of trying to quell a well organized and widespread rightwing rebellion reminiscent of George Washington putting down the Whiskey Rebellion. This is a concern, but it is solely and exclusively within the remit of one very sick political party, with lunatics like Doug Mastriano and Michael Flynn, not to mention Donald Trump, and a broad culture of enabling and refusal to condemn out of fear of the party's own voters.
An Emerson poll out this morning re: the $10K debt forgiveness showed that 36% of voters think that's too much, 30% think it's too little, and 35% think it's just right. I'm just not sure the issue is going to resonate the way the GOP thinks it is... don't mechanics and waitresses have children with college loans? Didn't some of them attend community college?
Could it be possible, and I am just spitballing here, having Fox News on every tv in the background at probably every military base hasn't been positive?
Maybe thousands of young maleable minds being fed total propaganda for decades isn't a great thing.....again just spitballing.
Charlie, you honed in on the part of the conversation with Elliot Ackerman that I was most attentive to. The Rome analogy falls apart when you consider that we have nothing like the land ownership requirements or the Marian Reforms that expanded admission into the army via tying a soldier's financial loyalties to the conquests of his general/politician (same thing back then). Crassus used to say "you really can't call yourself a rich Roman if you can't raise an army" (Crassus could). Pompius Magnus used to say "I could stomp my feet and whole armies will come out of the ground" (and it was true). We're a long long ways away from politician-generals like the Romans had.
That said, his concerns about invoking the Insurrection Act are well-warranted. We got pretty close to something like that between Lafayette Square and the federal agents in Portland in unmarked uniforms throwing protestors into unmarked vans. When I saw the 2A militiamen cheering on the unmarked roundups in Portland, I knew right then and there that their little statements about opposing tyranny were all bullshit. If they really *were* concerned about tyranny, they would have went after the federal agents in Portland the way they went after land management agents at the Bundy Ranch. Instead, they were cheering them on. THAT was when I knew we were in partisan militia territory.
Don't let the anti-tyranny messages of 2A militias fool you: they're not about defending against tyranny, they're about enforcing THEIR version of tyranny and opposing yours. That's when I realized that the militias we have in this country were not all that different than the Taliban and the Sunni/Shia militias in Iraq in terms of hypocritical ideology. It's not about defending their communities from tyranny of the government, it's about them enforcing their tyranny of the minority onto *you* so that you can't do tyranny of the majority to them. That's where we are now on the militia front and that scares the shit out of me more than it does the invocation of the Insurrection Act. The NatGuard will control themselves, but the 2A militias will see it as a call to action. That is in fact what they were waiting for with guns in the hotel room on Jan 6th. THAT is the greater danger: the private militias responding to an invocation of the Insurrection Act--not the National Guard.
"you should take my tax dollars to pay off your debts. My family will figure out how to get by with less."
This doesn't even make sense. The government is not raising anyone's taxes to pay for this.
As JVL wrote yesterday, "A pretty good working definition of government is *An organization which takes your money and spends it to help other people.* [...] Why is this the issue where everyone suddenly gets chesty about rugged individualism?"
My working theory is that in the imaginations of certain groups (such as Fox News Boomers who buy Trump coins and pundits who make handsome salaries writing opinion pieces for newspapers), the only people with student loan debt are Millennials who got liberal arts degrees and spend all of their money on avocados and lattes (and those groups really hate people under 40). However, that is not the reality about college debt. Lots of people carry significant student loan debt across a variety of demographics. Some of them are even the parents and grandparents who co-signed loans. So let's be real, this may make the Twitterati cranky, but I think millions of Americans will find relief from this.
Maybe Cletus von Ivermectin will be enraged over this, but was he voting for anyone who wasn't MAGA to begin with?
The problem with the commercial showing the construction worker, the waitress and mechanic complaining that college kids are getting a break on school loans is that 90% of the kids who need the breaks on these loans are the sons and daughters of mechanics, waitresses and construction workers. Rich kids don't need school loans. I was from a poor family and had a mix of loans and grants, as did my husband. Our kids didn't need loans.
RE: “Trump's social media app facing financial fallout...”
Once again a business is stiffed by a Deadbeat-In-Chief company, probably registered in Panama.
Republicans love to tout that American businesses are the smartest and most skillful in the world, (as well as greatest).
If so, why would any "smart" American business entity entertain doing deals with a Trump-related project??? Perhaps the platform sees not being paid as a tax write-off.
BTW - a throw-away bit of info that I almost missed in reading this story. Subsequent to non-payment after three months, the Trump company is suing the platform entity. Classic Deadbeat-In-Chief antic. Sue the company that is on the right side of a contractual agreement!
I come from a working class military family, so I grew up around military culture. Unlike many of my fellow humanities scholars in higher ed, I'm not anti-military. However, if someone asked me how much concern I think we should have about the chain of command breaking down and the military--or some segments thereof--turning against democratic institutions, I'd say that conditions are ripe for whatever worry we can spare.
"Theater Majors" now join "Welfare Queens", "Mexican Rapists", and "Groomer Teachers" in the Republican Legion of Doom. Someone call the Justice League!
Uh oh, it looks like they're busy fighting crime at Mar-A-Lago.
Funny, Republicans have spent the past five years insisting that lower-income people don't pay taxes and that's a problem, now they're saying lower-income people shouldn't have to subsidize college graduates with their tax money. Feel like maybe someone talking to them on one of those CNN shows should ask them about that.
" While my family is struggling, here, this 2217 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut is on me. If you want it to get bigger, get out and vote for the GOP party member of your choice..
Oh about choice, Well, Choice is so last year! Men can do women's thinking for them. The GOP has women's choice completely taken care of. "
“RightForge now contends that Truth Social has reneged on its contractually obligated monthly payments for setting up the platform’s web-servicing infrastructure, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
These people say RightForge contends that Truth Social has made just three payments and ceased making any payments since around March. RightForge claims that Truth Social owes it around $1.6 million and is threatening legal action to recoup the money, these people add.”
“ And, it seems as though our political leaders, from the right and the left, at every juncture, are eager to politicize the U.S. military. And it's something we should be very aware of and alarmed about as citizens.”.
I’d really like a list of examples of how Biden or anyone else on the Left has politically used the military - especially the part of “eagerly, at every juncture”. I’ve observed none, but perhaps I missed it? We all saw how Donny and GOP congress has attempted use of the military for the Right. That false claim alone made this author less worthy of a read for me.
I will fault Milley and Biden if they fail to root out “omerta” in our military. We saw some of them on Jan 6 and that should have given cause to find the rest. There surely is a way to find them now b4 Donny or DeSantis makes use of them, if either loses (but wins) in 2024.
This concern expressed over potential political use of the military, about politicizing the military, really boils down to one party and its base, and down to one man especially, and there is no both-sides critique available here. If you're worried that the military might be used inappropriately for political reasons on American citizens, I cannot begin to fathom how that scenario might unfold with Democrats in control, short of trying to quell a well organized and widespread rightwing rebellion reminiscent of George Washington putting down the Whiskey Rebellion. This is a concern, but it is solely and exclusively within the remit of one very sick political party, with lunatics like Doug Mastriano and Michael Flynn, not to mention Donald Trump, and a broad culture of enabling and refusal to condemn out of fear of the party's own voters.
An Emerson poll out this morning re: the $10K debt forgiveness showed that 36% of voters think that's too much, 30% think it's too little, and 35% think it's just right. I'm just not sure the issue is going to resonate the way the GOP thinks it is... don't mechanics and waitresses have children with college loans? Didn't some of them attend community college?
Could it be possible, and I am just spitballing here, having Fox News on every tv in the background at probably every military base hasn't been positive?
Maybe thousands of young maleable minds being fed total propaganda for decades isn't a great thing.....again just spitballing.
(insert 28pt sarcasm font)
No commentary on the $1.6 BILLION dollar donation to the GoP?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/25/dark-money-federalist-society-politics-distortion/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/politics/dark-money-donation-conservative-group-invs/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-conservative-group-gets-1-6-billion-donation
Charlie, you honed in on the part of the conversation with Elliot Ackerman that I was most attentive to. The Rome analogy falls apart when you consider that we have nothing like the land ownership requirements or the Marian Reforms that expanded admission into the army via tying a soldier's financial loyalties to the conquests of his general/politician (same thing back then). Crassus used to say "you really can't call yourself a rich Roman if you can't raise an army" (Crassus could). Pompius Magnus used to say "I could stomp my feet and whole armies will come out of the ground" (and it was true). We're a long long ways away from politician-generals like the Romans had.
That said, his concerns about invoking the Insurrection Act are well-warranted. We got pretty close to something like that between Lafayette Square and the federal agents in Portland in unmarked uniforms throwing protestors into unmarked vans. When I saw the 2A militiamen cheering on the unmarked roundups in Portland, I knew right then and there that their little statements about opposing tyranny were all bullshit. If they really *were* concerned about tyranny, they would have went after the federal agents in Portland the way they went after land management agents at the Bundy Ranch. Instead, they were cheering them on. THAT was when I knew we were in partisan militia territory.
Don't let the anti-tyranny messages of 2A militias fool you: they're not about defending against tyranny, they're about enforcing THEIR version of tyranny and opposing yours. That's when I realized that the militias we have in this country were not all that different than the Taliban and the Sunni/Shia militias in Iraq in terms of hypocritical ideology. It's not about defending their communities from tyranny of the government, it's about them enforcing their tyranny of the minority onto *you* so that you can't do tyranny of the majority to them. That's where we are now on the militia front and that scares the shit out of me more than it does the invocation of the Insurrection Act. The NatGuard will control themselves, but the 2A militias will see it as a call to action. That is in fact what they were waiting for with guns in the hotel room on Jan 6th. THAT is the greater danger: the private militias responding to an invocation of the Insurrection Act--not the National Guard.
"you should take my tax dollars to pay off your debts. My family will figure out how to get by with less."
This doesn't even make sense. The government is not raising anyone's taxes to pay for this.
As JVL wrote yesterday, "A pretty good working definition of government is *An organization which takes your money and spends it to help other people.* [...] Why is this the issue where everyone suddenly gets chesty about rugged individualism?"
My working theory is that in the imaginations of certain groups (such as Fox News Boomers who buy Trump coins and pundits who make handsome salaries writing opinion pieces for newspapers), the only people with student loan debt are Millennials who got liberal arts degrees and spend all of their money on avocados and lattes (and those groups really hate people under 40). However, that is not the reality about college debt. Lots of people carry significant student loan debt across a variety of demographics. Some of them are even the parents and grandparents who co-signed loans. So let's be real, this may make the Twitterati cranky, but I think millions of Americans will find relief from this.
Maybe Cletus von Ivermectin will be enraged over this, but was he voting for anyone who wasn't MAGA to begin with?
The problem with the commercial showing the construction worker, the waitress and mechanic complaining that college kids are getting a break on school loans is that 90% of the kids who need the breaks on these loans are the sons and daughters of mechanics, waitresses and construction workers. Rich kids don't need school loans. I was from a poor family and had a mix of loans and grants, as did my husband. Our kids didn't need loans.
RE: “Trump's social media app facing financial fallout...”
Once again a business is stiffed by a Deadbeat-In-Chief company, probably registered in Panama.
Republicans love to tout that American businesses are the smartest and most skillful in the world, (as well as greatest).
If so, why would any "smart" American business entity entertain doing deals with a Trump-related project??? Perhaps the platform sees not being paid as a tax write-off.
BTW - a throw-away bit of info that I almost missed in reading this story. Subsequent to non-payment after three months, the Trump company is suing the platform entity. Classic Deadbeat-In-Chief antic. Sue the company that is on the right side of a contractual agreement!
I come from a working class military family, so I grew up around military culture. Unlike many of my fellow humanities scholars in higher ed, I'm not anti-military. However, if someone asked me how much concern I think we should have about the chain of command breaking down and the military--or some segments thereof--turning against democratic institutions, I'd say that conditions are ripe for whatever worry we can spare.
"Theater Majors" now join "Welfare Queens", "Mexican Rapists", and "Groomer Teachers" in the Republican Legion of Doom. Someone call the Justice League!
Uh oh, it looks like they're busy fighting crime at Mar-A-Lago.
Funny, Republicans have spent the past five years insisting that lower-income people don't pay taxes and that's a problem, now they're saying lower-income people shouldn't have to subsidize college graduates with their tax money. Feel like maybe someone talking to them on one of those CNN shows should ask them about that.
Lol, Jared said "admonition of guilt," they teach you these malapropisms at Harvard, bro?
Better to write that ad to say,
" While my family is struggling, here, this 2217 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut is on me. If you want it to get bigger, get out and vote for the GOP party member of your choice..
Oh about choice, Well, Choice is so last year! Men can do women's thinking for them. The GOP has women's choice completely taken care of. "
“RightForge now contends that Truth Social has reneged on its contractually obligated monthly payments for setting up the platform’s web-servicing infrastructure, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
These people say RightForge contends that Truth Social has made just three payments and ceased making any payments since around March. RightForge claims that Truth Social owes it around $1.6 million and is threatening legal action to recoup the money, these people add.”
They never saw that coming, huh?
“ And, it seems as though our political leaders, from the right and the left, at every juncture, are eager to politicize the U.S. military. And it's something we should be very aware of and alarmed about as citizens.”.
I’d really like a list of examples of how Biden or anyone else on the Left has politically used the military - especially the part of “eagerly, at every juncture”. I’ve observed none, but perhaps I missed it? We all saw how Donny and GOP congress has attempted use of the military for the Right. That false claim alone made this author less worthy of a read for me.
I will fault Milley and Biden if they fail to root out “omerta” in our military. We saw some of them on Jan 6 and that should have given cause to find the rest. There surely is a way to find them now b4 Donny or DeSantis makes use of them, if either loses (but wins) in 2024.
Student loans probably aren't going to be a durable, top-five voting issue in November. Abortion rights definitely will be.