BIGUN 1,071 #1 February 8, 2018 Great OpEd piece. Loved being a part of the SOF community. Quote Since news broke that President Trump wanted to throw a military parade, there’s been a lot of angry debate in social media regarding just how “American” such a parade truly is. From the Left, we see the same anti-Trump bloviation that has characterized the party since January, and from the Right, we see the same Savior-in-Chief support that remains unwilling to question the businessman turned president. In many ways, it doesn’t matter what the topic is: the lines have already been drawn, and everyone has already chosen a team to play for. Let’s start by breaking the unspoken rule of digital media, and acknowledging that this entire debate revolves around something that simply just isn’t a very big deal. Sure, evil tyrants have used military parades to help instill nationalistic pride in their regimes, but then, so have honest and just leaders. Sure, military parades aren’t a common facet of American patriotism, but I haven’t been around all that long and I have conscious memories of the last one. I’m fairly certain George H.W. Bush’s parade wasn’t a part of a secret-Nazi strategy to turn America into a haven for fascism, but if it was, he seems to be taking the failure in stride. The fact of the matter is, a parade is just a parade. It’ll inconvenience traffic, it’ll make for some exciting photo opportunities, and it’ll give Lefties and Righties something to conduct hashtag warfare about, but ultimately, it’s still just a publicity stunt that’ll be over before you know it, and we’ll all move on to the next trending outrage. The real issue I see with all the angry debate about a military parade in Washington D.C. has nothing to do with the cost of organizing the parade, or how it might affect the perception other nations have about our country… it’s that everyone seems to have passionate feelings about a damn parade, while the men and women actually tasked with defending our nation have been operating without a functional budget for months, and no one on the Right or Left seems the least bit concerned about that. SOURCE: https://sofrep.com/99327/opinion-military-parade-debate-just-latest-example-americans-missing-forest-trees/ Author Bio: Alex Hollings served as an active duty Marine for six and a half years before being medically retired from service. As an athlete, Hollings has raced exotic cars, played Marine Corps football and college rugby, fought in cages, and even wrestled alligators. As a scholar, he has earned a master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as undergraduate degrees in Corporate and Organizational Communications and Business Management.Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,648 #2 February 8, 2018 www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-doesnt-need-a-parade-he-needs-a-roman-triumph/2018/02/07/30c68dbc-0c4b-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.73422fe6aada&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #3 February 8, 2018 I, too, enjoyed being part of the SOF community. The last thing any of the soldiers I worked with ever wanted to do was march around. - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 913 #4 February 8, 2018 BIGUN Great OpEd piece. Loved being a part of the SOF community. Quote Since news broke that President Trump wanted to throw a military parade, there’s been a lot of angry debate in social media regarding just how “American” such a parade truly is. From the Left, we see the same anti-Trump bloviation that has characterized the party since January, and from the Right, we see the same Savior-in-Chief support that remains unwilling to question the businessman turned president. In many ways, it doesn’t matter what the topic is: the lines have already been drawn, and everyone has already chosen a team to play for. Let’s start by breaking the unspoken rule of digital media, and acknowledging that this entire debate revolves around something that simply just isn’t a very big deal. Sure, evil tyrants have used military parades to help instill nationalistic pride in their regimes, but then, so have honest and just leaders. Sure, military parades aren’t a common facet of American patriotism, but I haven’t been around all that long and I have conscious memories of the last one. I’m fairly certain George H.W. Bush’s parade wasn’t a part of a secret-Nazi strategy to turn America into a haven for fascism, but if it was, he seems to be taking the failure in stride. The fact of the matter is, a parade is just a parade. It’ll inconvenience traffic, it’ll make for some exciting photo opportunities, and it’ll give Lefties and Righties something to conduct hashtag warfare about, but ultimately, it’s still just a publicity stunt that’ll be over before you know it, and we’ll all move on to the next trending outrage. The real issue I see with all the angry debate about a military parade in Washington D.C. has nothing to do with the cost of organizing the parade, or how it might affect the perception other nations have about our country… it’s that everyone seems to have passionate feelings about a damn parade, while the men and women actually tasked with defending our nation have been operating without a functional budget for months, and no one on the Right or Left seems the least bit concerned about that. SOURCE: https://sofrep.com/99327/opinion-military-parade-debate-just-latest-example-americans-missing-forest-trees/ Author Bio: Alex Hollings served as an active duty Marine for six and a half years before being medically retired from service. As an athlete, Hollings has raced exotic cars, played Marine Corps football and college rugby, fought in cages, and even wrestled alligators. As a scholar, he has earned a master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as undergraduate degrees in Corporate and Organizational Communications and Business Management. A parade is just a parade huh? You make reference in another thread about substance in a Kennedy speech, or lack thereof. The fact is trump has never had substance in anything he has ever represented. He has no core values, political or otherwise. trump has never cared a damn about the US military. Never cared a rats ass about sequester budgets and their effect upon military service personnel. Just yesterday he gave a speech where he used the word shutdown and the need for one, Four times in two minutes. All to drive home the point that he wants money for a wall. While simultaneously bringing MS-13 and their "thousands and thousands of US members", into the debate. trump has never stepped into the debate about what the US military needs and how to address it. Sat down with the ways and means committee to push a firm defense budget. Sat down with the Armed Services committee to ascertain the real needs of equipment, funding. A parade has substance. The substance of trump pandering to his base and wrapping himself around the flag. Wrapping himself with the goodwill that the US military holds with regards to the US public. Mr. Hollings, hit the nail on the head when he said it just a publicity stunt. Spoken like a true Marine. If he wanted that editorial to have real substance, he could have been a better communicator and just said. Lets put substance on the lips of that pig instead of lipstick. Forget the parade publicity stunt and get a budget approved. But the senate bipartisan leaders McConnell and Schumer, just agreed to one. Thats substance, absent drama and publicity stunts.There is a saying within SF relating to grandstanding, drama, about just getting down and dirty to do the job. "Quiet professionals", something absent from this drama driven WH. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,071 #5 February 8, 2018 kallend www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-doesnt-need-a-parade-he-needs-a-roman-triumph/2018/02/07/30c68dbc-0c4b-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html?undefined=&utm_term=.73422fe6aada&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1 No need to persuade me on this issue, Professor. I lean against the right and more to the left on the parade. Those of us from the military (not slighting civilians at all) know a dog and pony show when we see it. Even the military is pushing back on this one... And, if you love your Generals; then you love them unconditionally and not only when they agree with you. Right before mid-term elections. Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 1,925 #6 February 8, 2018 Cadet bone spurs should get his parade. He is C in C and if that's what he wants then his troops should parade for him.Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,071 #7 February 8, 2018 Quote Forget the parade publicity stunt and get a budget approved. Ummm... that's exactly what Mr. Hollings said. ¯\_("/)_/¯Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 622 #8 February 8, 2018 Most of us military folks have issues with draft dodgers. Some of them we have 5 times more issues with than others. Makes my feet hurt just to think about it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,145 #9 February 8, 2018 They should just string Trump along, tell him the planning is gong marvellous and set a date. Then on the morning of the parade tell him that it had to be cancelled since all those participating called in with bone spurs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,400 #10 February 8, 2018 SkyDekkerThey should just string Trump along, tell him the planning is gong marvellous and set a date. Then on the morning of the parade tell him that it had to be cancelled since all those participating called in with bone spurs. Borowitz had the same idea yesterday: https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/military-refuses-to-participate-in-trumps-parade-citing-bone-spurs"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tkhayes 140 #11 February 8, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLJ8ILIE780 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 913 #12 February 8, 2018 BIGUNQuote Forget the parade publicity stunt and get a budget approved. Ummm... that's exactly what Mr. Hollings said. ¯\_("/)_/¯ Perhaps we could put trump, Hollings, Mattis, McConnell, Schumer, Pelosi and McCarthy, all in the same room. MRE's until a budget is signed, even if it takes a week. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,434 #13 February 8, 2018 >They should just string Trump along, tell him the planning is gong marvellous >and set a date. >Then on the morning of the parade tell him that it had to be cancelled . . . In Catch-22 there is a character named Scheisskopf. He's a parade-obsessed lieutenant who keeps getting promoted due to his unwavering commitment to organizing parades. Since catch-22 is set during a war, no one has time for any parades, but his CO has a solution - Scheisskopf is allowed to plan intricate parades as long as he always cancels them at the last minute. He ends up in charge of the all European combat operations due to massive carelessness - and then he can finally have his parade. From the Wiki entry: ===================== . . . Scheisskopf is constantly thinking up new schemes to help try to win the parade, held each Sunday afternoon. He reads books on marching and uses chocolate soldiers or plastic cowboys to act out his manoeuvres. His success and innovation in organizing parades leads to his later promotions. Scheisskopf is always too busy planning parades to fulfill his wife’s masochistic sexual fantasies and replies to her requests, “Don’t you know there’s a parade going on?” Instead, she sleeps with Scheisskopf's cadets, so they can all get revenge on her husband, and so can she for some “unforgettable crime she couldn’t recall.” Mrs Scheisskopf is well read and has a Maths major, but can not count to twenty eight without getting into trouble every month . . . Nearing the climax of the novel, Scheisskopf is shipped out to General Peckem’s command in Rome, and promoted to Colonel. The only things Scheisskopf is concerned about is running parades and sending for his wife, both which had been promised by the officers that sent him overseas. Peckem refuses both requests, and instead allows Scheisskopf to send out announcements stating that there will be no parade each week: Due to circumstances beyond my control, there will be no big parade this Sunday afternoon. Colonel Scheisskopf Finally, in a massive oversight by General Peckem and Ex-PFC Wintergreen, on the day General Peckem supersedes General Dreedle’s wing command, his request for combat operations to be transferred to his old command, “Special Services”, is also granted. As Scheisskopf is now ranking senior officer of Special Services, he is promoted to Lieutenant General, and takes command of all combat operations, becoming the commanding officer of General Peckem. His first orders, relayed by Colonel Cargill, makes his intentions clear: ”Oh, my God!” he cried, as the phone fell from his fingers. “Do you know what he wants? He wants us to march! He wants everybody to march!” ================================== I don't know why that character suddenly came to mind . . . . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #14 February 8, 2018 Quote Perhaps we could put trump, Hollings, Mattis, McConnell, Schumer, Pelosi and McCarthy, all in the same room. MRE's until a budget is signed, even if it takes a week Include Ryan and it's the idea of the year Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanG 1 #15 February 8, 2018 Nah, Trump would love MREs. Tons of calories and no flavor. - Dan G Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 622 #16 February 8, 2018 Just like his favorite burger, McDonald's. blech ptui Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 913 #17 February 8, 2018 normissJust like his favorite burger, McDonald's. blech ptui Okay, Okay I have to confess. I like Mcdonalds. I like the cheaper scotch whiskeys as well. Furthermore when people poke fun of me: Some of the richest billionaires in the world still eat at McDonald’s https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/billionaires-who-eat-at-mcdonalds.html and the story dosn't even mention "_______". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,400 #18 February 8, 2018 I love the Kermit parody of Slim Pickens here: https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/lk020818_color.jpg "There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,259 #19 February 8, 2018 Quotetrump has never stepped into the debate about what the US military needs and how to address it. Sat down with the ways and means committee to push a firm defense budget. Sat down with the Armed Services committee to ascertain the real needs of equipment, funding. The idea that the US doesn't have a firm defense budget is an even bigger fantasy than anything that has come out of Trump's mouth since the election. Further, what the US military currently needs from a budget and what the US really needs from its military are two entirely different things. QuoteOkay, Okay I have to confess. I like Mcdonalds. I like the cheaper scotch whiskeys as well. Furthermore when people poke fun of me: Some of the richest billionaires in the world still eat at McDonald’s There's no accounting for lack of taste! And that's the thing about McDs, it doesn't taste bad. It just doesn't taste of anything. It's as bland and dumbed down as daytime TV.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 622 #20 February 8, 2018 I have found if I need a fast acting system flush that Taco Hell is more effective and tastes better than McDeath. I think most of us enjoy some crappy food sometimes. Still won't do McDonald's though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 913 #21 February 8, 2018 normissI have found if I need a fast acting system flush that Taco Hell is more effective and tastes better than McDeath. I think most of us enjoy some crappy food sometimes. Still won't do McDonald's though. Mostly agree, about once a year for each, McD, Burger King, KFC, Denny's and each of the other chains. Its not like I choose them as a destination meal. Its always on the road, need to eat, something to eat while driving. Or use washroom and eat. It is what it is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 622 #22 February 8, 2018 We try very hard to stick to our rule about traveling: When away from home, never eat at someplace you could if you were home. There are, like you say, those times on the road though.... Locally, I do cheat with an occasional Culver's burger though. Damn NOMS. Or wings. Or $5 Chinese. By $5 I mean one of the places with the standard generic menu board over the counter place. I just wish they would understand what extra hot extra spicy means when I order Orange Chicken. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,145 #23 February 8, 2018 ryoder I love the Kermit parody of Slim Pickens here: https://cmgajcluckovich.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/lk020818_color.jpg That's hilarious! I see that the guy who claims to have shot Bin Laden isn't too fond of the parade idea. I am waiting on a Trump tweet indicating the SEALs were never welcome in the parade anyways. Probably part of the Libtard Deep State. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,400 #24 February 8, 2018 Dems introduce bills to block funds for Trump's proposed parade http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/373036-dem-lawmakers-introduce-bills-to-block-funds-for-proposed-military-parade The SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Thinks Trumps Parade Idea Is “Third World Bullshit” https://www.newsandguts.com/seal-killed-bin-laden-thinks-trumps-parade-idea-third-world-bullshit/"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,434 #25 February 8, 2018 >Dems introduce bills to block funds for Trump's proposed parade Anyone who doesn't want a parade is a traitor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
