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Re: Random Politics

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:21 pm
by Johnnie
An Unholy Alliance Is Forcing Veterans To Pay For 12 Years Of War

Yea. America sucks a lot these days.

To go with this article, the military will be drastically downsized over the next 5 years. For the Air Force alone they want to chop 25,000 people. My job in the Air Force has vulnerabilities at my rank and the 2 ranks below mine. As of right now they are taking volunteers. The board for those who put in a separation package will convene in May. Shortly after that, a determination for how many more people will need to go and their particular jobs will be made public and that 'rack-and-stack' group will be involuntarily separated.

Mostly, people with negative marks on their performance reports, medically unqualified personnel, and those who have had administrative action in the past will be first in line. But then it will come crunch time and good people who have done nothing but placed 'service before self' will get the axe. This thing I do to make money is nothing more than a job. It's not a career.

Am I vulnerable? Of course. But we shall see. If I make the next rank I might be in the clear. Maybe keeping my nose clean for 12 years, having my CCAF degrees, and being in line to have my bachelor's in May could help my case. But I don't know.

What I do know is that I fucking hate politicians. All of them.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:47 pm
by howard
Better learn how to pilot a drone

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 1:50 pm
by Johnnie
I should have cross trained into that job when I had the chance in 2007. Went the easy route. I'm still happier than when I was working on planes, but the Air Force overall is just harshing my mellow.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 1:59 pm
by howard
I'm joking; piloting a drone sounds like a really crappy job, mental problems and extreme boredom.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 3:01 pm
by Johnnie
I guess the Air Force reads the Swamp. There's no longer a vulnerability at my rank for my career field. Go logistics.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:11 am
by rass
"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee"

Not sure if a scandal could be more Jersey.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:03 pm
by The Sybian
Maybe this belongs in a soccer related thread, but I am more interested in the European political aspect of the story. After the Arsenal decimation of crosstown arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, a rash of anti-Semitic tweets were sent out by Arsenal fans, and apparently these tweets were submitted to Scotland Yard for investigation. As a bit of background, Tottenham fans proudly call themselves Yids or the Yid Army. This nickname goes back to the 1890s, when Tottenham played in the Jewish section of London, and therefore had a large Jewish following. Supporters of other teams often refer to Tottenham fans as Yids in a derisive manner, but in my opinion, this isn't really an anti-Jewish sentiment.

Anywho, the point of my post is to say that I can't fathom police investigating tweets for taunting the Yids for losing this game. Seriously, this is ridiculous on so many levels. As a Jew, I don't find this remotely offensive. I have to imagine for Brits, this is even less offensive, as it is ingrained in the footballing culture for over 120 years. Even if it is somehow anti-Semitic, I have a hard time understanding how it can be a crime to tweet something racially insensitive. Maybe I am blinded by the strong sense of a Right to Free Speech in the US, I know that Americans hold a stronger attachment to this Right more than most if not all countries in the world, but Twitter? Is there a more harmless act of hate speech than sending a tweet into the ethers? Fricking Liberals.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:17 pm
by howard
The Sybian wrote:As a bit of background, Tottenham fans proudly call themselves Yids or the Yid Army.
So I gotta switch to the Spurs?

They ain't got a first amendment (but you know that).

PC, Political Correctness, is just another form of social control, another flavor of censorship. Which the left loves, and which the right loves. Controlling what other people do; the place to which politics inevitably goes.

The genius of our system, which is so easily forgotten, ignored and cast aside, is the right of the minority to do shit you don't like, but shit that does not actually harm. Hurt feelings and discomfort don't count as harm. Indeed, the necessity for a free society to prevail and thrive, to protects those rights of the minority.

But I'm rambling again.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:25 pm
by The Sybian
howard wrote:
The genius of our system, which is so easily forgotten, ignored and cast aside, is the right of the minority to do shit you don't like
Like the right to invade Christmas.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:53 pm
by Jerloma
I think they're probably particularly sensitive on the other side of the pond specifically towards anti-Semitic sentiment due to some event in fairly recent history. Looking into something isn't infringing on anyone's rights either. If they arrest someone for that and that alone, now they got a problem.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:31 pm
by howard
Jerloma wrote:I think they're probably particularly sensitive on the other side of the pond specifically towards anti-Semitic sentiment due to some event in fairly recent history.
And the fantasy that legislation and/or policing can avoid a repeat of that event is the depth of ignorance and irresponsibility. But, whatddayagonnado? Cause the fantasy sure feels good.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:15 pm
by howard
rass wrote:"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee"

Not sure if a scandal could be more Jersey.
Apparently (and I do not care enough to look it up) Christie first said this did not happen. Now he admits it happened, but he had no knowledge of it. Fuck him.

What kills me is how does fucking traffic on a major thoroughfare constitute revenge on a mayor of one town on the road? The only drivers inconvenienced are Fort Lee residents who will vote against the guy? How the hell does that make any sense at all?

For hiring someone as his deputy chief of staff who is that fucking stupid, GFY you fat load of crap.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:20 pm
by The Sybian
howard wrote:
rass wrote:"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee"

Not sure if a scandal could be more Jersey.
Apparently (and I do not care enough to look it up) Christie first said this did not happen. Now he admits it happened, but he had no knowledge of it. Fuck him.

What kills me is how does fucking traffic on a major thoroughfare constitute revenge on a mayor of one town on the road? The only drivers inconvenienced are Fort Lee residents who will vote against the guy? How the hell does that make any sense at all?

For hiring someone as his deputy chief of staff who is that fucking stupid, GFY you fat load of crap.
Exactly. Fort Lee residents would have less of an issue than everyone who lives further West. Even if it did somehow hurt only Fort Lee residents, who would blame the mayor for a lane closure on an interstate? Incredibly stupid in so many ways. Can we prosecute this guy for anything? Can I get an Interstate Commerce Clause up in this piece? Gotta be, right? Come on Eric Holder, make yourself useful and stop going after legal pot smokers in Cali.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:53 pm
by cerrano

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:49 am
by Jerloma
There goes that campaign.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:55 am
by The Sybian

There is a lawsuit. Not sure how much you can claim for a 91 year old woman, but I could see a Judge awarding punitive damages. I could see a criminal charge out of this, too. Regardless, it is really fucked up to even think to do this. Throw the book at the aide. I have to think Christie genuinely didn't know about this. Naive of me, maybe, but I gotta believe the big bully isn't this stupid and vindictive. The aide apparently thinks he is, otherwise she wouldn't have done this. Unless she is a loose cannon psychopath.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:31 am
by howard
Article in local paper summarizing in far more detail than you are likely to want
The Sybian wrote:…the big bully isn't this stupid and vindictive.
Maybe he isn't, maybe he is. But he said, repeatedly, his office had nothing to do with the lane closure. Stupid enough to engage in a coverup? Don't bet against that.

He has already made demonstrably false statements. His use of the phrase that he was 'misled' is an attempt to blame others for those false statements, least they be shown to be lies in furtherance of the coverup.

Despite the rich history of the cost of failed coverups, they do this for one simple reason. Coverups do not fail 100% of the time. They often work. Even when they fail, they often work (Iran-Contra, Lewinsky, Valarie Plame smearing, fabrication of evidence in march to war w/Iraq, Benghazi--how many presidents were forced from office in those five incidents?)

Lying to cover up frequently works to protect the person in charge. Increasingly so as we become increasingly tolerant of the lies these bastards spew.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:01 pm
by Giff
The dumbest thing about this is the mayor is a Democrat. Why would one even be surprised if a Democrat didn't endorse a Republican?

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:19 pm
by The Sybian
Giff wrote:The dumbest thing about this is the mayor is a Democrat. Why would one even be surprised if a Democrat didn't endorse a Republican?
Because he is CHRIS CHRISTIE, dammit!

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:21 pm
by rass
Giff wrote:The dumbest thing about this is the mayor is a Democrat. Why would one even be surprised if a Democrat didn't endorse a Republican?
The NYT summarized the "why" pretty succinctly:
Mr. Christie was cruising to re-election over Ms. Buono in the fall, but he and his campaign were leaning on local Democratic officials to endorse him so that he could pitch himself to national Republicans as the presidential nominee who could attract broad bipartisan support.

More than 50 local Democrats endorsed Mr. Christie, and some whispered that they feared the governor would withhold state money or favor if they did not go along.

Mr. Sokolich, a Democrat, was among those who did not endorse him.

This week, Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City and a rising Democratic star, said the governor’s office had canceled meetings with him in October the day that he said he would vote for Ms. Buono.

The governor’s office dismissed it as routine schedule changes. But the emails that came to light on Wednesday show that Mr. Fulop’s reluctance to endorse the governor did not sit well with the governor’s office. In one exchange, Mr. Christie’s aides and the Port Authority staff talked about how they were ignoring messages from the mayor of Fort Lee, who had called Mr. Baroni to report the lane closings as “urgent matter of public safety.”

“Did he call him back?” Ms. Kelly asked.

“Radio silence,” Mr. Wildstein replied. “His name comes right after Mayor Fulop.”

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:35 pm
by Jerloma
Chris Christie is sad that his people lied to him...



Syb, you can give him the benefit of the doubt all you want but Occam's Razor cuts like a mother and the only thing left is that this mother fucker is full of shit.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:38 pm
by The Sybian
Jerloma wrote:Chris Christie is sad that his people lied to him...


Syb, you can give him the benefit of the doubt all you want but Occam's Razor cuts like a mother and the only thing left is that this mother fucker is full of shit.
Hey, I love Occam and his razor, but I could see the possibility that this went on behind Christie's back. Likely? No, but it is possible. I am governed by the fat tub of goo, and indirectly worked for him as a Special Assistant US Attorney when he was the US Attorney of NJ. I hate the guy, but I think you have to give him the benefit of the doubt until more info comes out damning him. He is an arrogant and vindictive jackass, but this is just too stupid. I will say, I genuinely believe he works hard to act in the best interest of the State, even when I disagree with him, which is often.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 2:48 pm
by Pruitt
It takes a big, big man to throw his staff under a bus.

Our Prime Minister - a notorious micro manager - was apparently unaware that his office authorized a $90,000 payment to one of his Senators.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:05 pm
by Gunpowder
The bar for not fucking up is so low and like, nobody can ever clear it.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:12 pm
by ZMan
Who's the mental giant that conceived of this "gotcha" moment? I've been stuck in traffic many, many times at the fucking GWB, and not once did I ever think to criticize the mayor of Fort Lee. The entire state of Jersey, or NY, or the bridge itself, or the Port Authority, or the DOT, sure. But not the pissant mayor of pissant Fort Lee.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:18 pm
by Scottie
Pruitt wrote:It takes a big, big man to throw his staff under a bus.

Our Prime Minister - a notorious micro manager - was apparently unaware that his office authorized a $90,000 payment to one of his Senators.
And is relentlessly going after that senator. Sheeesh. Canada is a $1.9 Trillion G8 economy and its leftist NeoComm media obsesses over $90K and a senator that the Tories subsequently ostracized. Google "sponsorship scandal' sometime in which Quebecois liberals misappropriated, stole, billions of Cdn dollars. Or Google "Marc Harb" and compare the amount of spilled ink to Duffy.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 4:46 pm
by ZMan
That's even less outrage worthy than the $300 Million (aka, 1/100th of 1% of the US Budget) Romney was going to save by cutting funding for PBS.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:11 pm
by Johnnie
Gunpowder wrote:The bar for not fucking up is so low and like, nobody can ever clear it.
That's excellent.

And this scenario is a bit too 'WTF?' for me. I just can't give half shit. This seems like the latest Charade Of Indignation. Let's move on from Duck Dynasty!

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:47 pm
by howard
I noticed this headline early today:

W. Va. Sen. Rockefeller seeks federal probe of GWB lane closures

This evening, this:

West Virginia chemical spill: Gov declares emergency

I ain't sayin' nuthin'. I ain't even just sayin'.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:49 am
by Jerloma
Johnnie wrote:
Gunpowder wrote:The bar for not fucking up is so low and like, nobody can ever clear it.
That's excellent.

And this scenario is a bit too 'WTF?' for me. I just can't give half shit. This seems like the latest Charade Of Indignation. Let's move on from Duck Dynasty!
There are few things that invoke more disdain than a traffic jam. Oh, and did you not hear someone fucking died?

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:52 am
by Giff
Jerloma wrote:
Johnnie wrote:
Gunpowder wrote:The bar for not fucking up is so low and like, nobody can ever clear it.
That's excellent.

And this scenario is a bit too 'WTF?' for me. I just can't give half shit. This seems like the latest Charade Of Indignation. Let's move on from Duck Dynasty!
There are few things that invoke more disdain than a traffic jam. Oh, and did you not hear someone fucking died?
Yeah, this is a little different than an outcry over some words that came out of a redneck's mouth.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:04 am
by The Sybian
Johnnie wrote:
Gunpowder wrote:The bar for not fucking up is so low and like, nobody can ever clear it.
That's excellent.

And this scenario is a bit too 'WTF?' for me. I just can't give half shit. This seems like the latest Charade Of Indignation. Let's move on from Duck Dynasty!

I don't think you can comprehend what a traffic jam like this can do to a major crossing into Manhattan. I was stuck in a 4 hour traffic jam once on my way to work. Even a very minor accident can set you back 2 hours on your way to work. To intentionally cause this as revenge against a mayor of the opposing party refusing to endorse your candidacy?

I am not sure of the exact number, but I've seen estimates of daily vehicles travelling the GW Bridge at 290,000 every day. You are impacting a fuckload of citizens you were elected to serve out of a petty act of retribution that doesn't effect the guy you are going after. 290,000 vehicles! How many people is that? Because a mayor didn't endorse you on an election that was never going to be remotely close? Several mayors have come out saying they felt forced to endorse Christie under threats of retribution. Pretty fucked up for the Governor of the greatest state in the Union and front runner for a Presidential nomination.

Yeah, I'm Easily Amused

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 1:32 pm
by howard
For Springsteen fans: #ChrisChristieAlbums

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:29 pm
by Johnnie
The Sybian wrote:I don't think you can comprehend what a traffic jam like this can do to a major crossing into Manhattan. I was stuck in a 4 hour traffic jam once on my way to work. Even a very minor accident can set you back 2 hours on your way to work. To intentionally cause this as revenge against a mayor of the opposing party refusing to endorse your candidacy?

I am not sure of the exact number, but I've seen estimates of daily vehicles travelling the GW Bridge at 290,000 every day. You are impacting a fuckload of citizens you were elected to serve out of a petty act of retribution that doesn't effect the guy you are going after. 290,000 vehicles! How many people is that? Because a mayor didn't endorse you on an election that was never going to be remotely close? Several mayors have come out saying they felt forced to endorse Christie under threats of retribution. Pretty fucked up for the Governor of the greatest state in the Union and front runner for a Presidential nomination.
I live 10 minutes from the west gate at Ramstein AB. My daily commute is 45 minutes because of traffic. And I lived an hour outside of Seoul. I took the bus not only because I had to, but because it had its own lane. You don't want to drive into Seoul. So I can comprehend a traffic jam into one of the most major metropolitan areas in the world. And I can certainly see the dickishness and spitefulness over a non endorsement from a rival party member. The death, however, I can't speak on because I'm not a medical professional and don't know the details of that. But when I see "91 year old" and her daughter saying "I really believe in my heart that she was already gone when the ambulance got there", it makes me think that even in perfect traffic she still may not have been saved. Pin it on the traffic jam, sure. I can't argue that. The maybe factor exists and you know I'm a fan of the maybe factor.

I'm sure he's lying. He a fucking politician. But what's everyone going to do about it? Hem and haw until nothing and the next round of scandals over something pops up? If this spirals into Christie stepping down, cool. If it doesn't, whatever.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:34 pm
by The Sybian
Johnnie wrote:
The Sybian wrote: The maybe factor exists and you know I'm a fan of the maybe factor.

I'm sure he's lying. He a fucking politician. But what's everyone going to do about it? Hem and haw until nothing and the next round of scandals over something pops up? If this spirals into Christie stepping down, cool. If it doesn't, whatever.
He is probably lying, but I am granting the maybe factor for now. He is such a micro-managing narcissist that it'd be surprising if he didn't know or suggest some sort of retribution, but like I said upthread, this is just too stupid and petty for a smart guy to pull. Then again, he probably figured there was no way it'd come back to him. Who would guess a Governor would completely overstep his authority to cause a traffic jam?

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:55 pm
by DaveInSeattle
Johnnie wrote:
I'm sure he's lying. He a fucking politician. But what's everyone going to do about it? Hem and haw until nothing and the next round of scandals over something pops up? If this spirals into Christie stepping down, cool. If it doesn't, whatever.
Here's why Christie's story....that he didn't know about any of this until yesterday morning....stinks like last weeks garbage. This story has been floating around for months (Rachel Maddow has been all over it). Christie even joked a while back about how he was out there "moving the cones" around. And then, a month ago, 2 of the people involved in this resigned and lawyered up. And now he's claiming that he never asked them why? And then he fired his Deputy Chief of Staff yesterday, because she lied to him, and he didn't question her at all? The man was a US Attorney, and he didn't show any curiosity as to why a guy he went to high school with and appointed to a well paying position just up and resigns? And he doesn't quiz this person on his staff on what exactly she did and who she was working with?

C'mon....

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:07 pm
by DaveInSeattle
A Mr. Feder, Once of Fort Lee, Chimes In...
More than 30 years ago, Mr. Feder, 64, was perhaps Fort Lee’s best-known resident, celebrated by a recurring character played by Gilda Radner on “Saturday Night Live.” The character, Roseanne Roseannadanna, would begin her segment on “Weekend Update” by saying, “A Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, N.J., writes in and says ...”

Mr. Feder did not write any letters. A co-creator of the segment, Alan Zweibel, was Mr. Feder’s brother-in-law, and Mr. Feder, the show’s faceless sad sack, bore little resemblance to Mr. Feder, the husband who served then as vice president of a textile printing plant.

This week, as Gov. Chris Christie confronted a growing scandal about his administration’s role in shutting down the lanes, Mr. Feder’s public role, long dormant, arrived at a trying moment. “I’m getting emails to my website,” Mr. Zweibel said. “What would Richard Feder say about this?”

It turns out that Mr. Feder, who is still in textiles, is in a distinct position to comment: He was stuck in that very traffic jam.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:22 pm
by howard
"For someone from New Jersey, you sure ask a lot of questions."

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 10:23 am
by The Sybian
DaveInSeattle wrote:A Mr. Feder, Once of Fort Lee, Chimes In...
More than 30 years ago, Mr. Feder, 64, was perhaps Fort Lee’s best-known resident, celebrated by a recurring character played by Gilda Radner on “Saturday Night Live.” The character, Roseanne Roseannadanna, would begin her segment on “Weekend Update” by saying, “A Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, N.J., writes in and says ...”

Mr. Feder did not write any letters. A co-creator of the segment, Alan Zweibel, was Mr. Feder’s brother-in-law, and Mr. Feder, the show’s faceless sad sack, bore little resemblance to Mr. Feder, the husband who served then as vice president of a textile printing plant.

This week, as Gov. Chris Christie confronted a growing scandal about his administration’s role in shutting down the lanes, Mr. Feder’s public role, long dormant, arrived at a trying moment. “I’m getting emails to my website,” Mr. Zweibel said. “What would Richard Feder say about this?”

It turns out that Mr. Feder, who is still in textiles, is in a distinct position to comment: He was stuck in that very traffic jam.

That is great. I loved that character as a kid. In syndication, of course.

I outgrew my giving the benefit of the doubt on this issue. Christie had to know, and if not, it is a combination of incompetence and willfully turning a blind eye.

Re: Random Politics

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:14 pm
by The Sybian
Fallon absolutely kills the Christie/GWB story with a little help from the Boss.