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I was a Marine maintainer, and I will have you know, that we also have adjustable wrenches and a flat head screwdriver (but only a big one). The selection of hammers was pretty incredible though.

You mean like Callsigns...

Georgia elected a U.S. Representative who believes a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against President Trump. People vote for her or AOC for the same reasons people vote for any candidate.

I love this article. "To be clear, we're not going to have quotas. Instead, we're going to...........................have quotas."

Bouncing boobies at 1:25 in the AOC video.

Where is the evidence of this? I'm open to believing this, but I just haven't seen any of it in practice. The Democrats had an open socialist in the primaries, Elizabeth Warren who is pretty damn close, and several other fringe candidates. They picked.......Joe Biden? The dude who was absolutely the most milquetoast generic centrist out of the 20-odd candidates? What *evidence* is there that a President Biden will be powerless to stand up to a junior congresswoman from New York?

I'm going to be honest. Politically I detest her. We couldn't be more opposite on so many things. I also don't think she has all of her platforms well thought out. I do not think she's stupid though, just not as expereinced. We take for granted sometimes as officers we have a broad understanding of government, and policy. But at the end of the day, none of us ran for office, and she did. Morally though I somewhat admire her. She was unhappy with her circumstances, ran an extremely fierce campaign as an under dog, and stood strongly in front of a wave of criticism on everything from her background to her looks from opponents that would not take her seriously. This ultimately backfired, because now you have to take her seriously. Whether you like to admit it or not, she has political pull and influence. That equates to power, and so long as she had power, she matters. Would love to see some younger Republicans generate the same energy but they largely just don't exist.

I crossed out Harris for a reason. Keeping this on Biden. So it's a purely political thing for you then? Trump hasn't been in a position to do those things politically, but has done some awful things commercially/personally. Those get a wash? LGBT movement...a lot of current politicians disagreed with (ex. Pence, Obama, Dubya, etc.). I'm not versed enough in his politics for "bad choices" on the military. I guess the point I'm trying to understand (from red to blue) is how you can think him, as an individual, as a bad person compared to Trump. Not as a politician, he's been in gov't far to long to be "clean," but Trump's lack of politics just means I include what he was doing during that time. At least I'd think they'd be even. sidenote - the reddit meltdown is glorious.

If they're not postmarked by election day then they aren't legal votes.

Apparently Ben Shapiro debunked this and said that places such as WI have same day voter registration. Not sure of other states though.

Honestly, I think AOC gets far more media attention from FOXNews and Breitbart than from most “mainstream” sources.

Don't expect anyone to take you seriously if you're subscribing to silly playground nicknames. I'd be embarrassed if my 9 year-old did that, and it's that much more cringey when adults do it.

I saw something similar today and it rang true with me, as well (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-biden-democrats-reckoning-generation-matt-gorman). Edit (another good one): https://theweek.com/articles/947824/left-just-got-crushed From the article: And I tend to agree. Having Trump in office for another four years would be delicious if only for the unending YouTube stream of leftist children reeeeeeeeeing, but honestly, Trump may have served his purpose, which was killing the Clinton machine, upending the Obama years, and shining a black light on what is our politics. The next four years spent with a fully ineffectual democratic president who can't mumble his way through a teleprompter and a vice president who is in way over her head will serve the conservative cause much more in the long run.

Pretty easy. Over 47 years he has made legislation that targeted minorities. Trump hasn’t. Biden blatantly said that he completely disagreed with the LGBT movement. He has made bad choices against our military, our livelihood. Absolutely poor decisions and came out against measures to protect from covid. Harris is one of the worst people in politics today. She is where she is off bro jobs and hipocracy. They support the riots. Say they aren’t a problem. And also want to change the foundation of our country. The things that make us what we are today in a positive way. She just said that people who have less should get more than successful people. That redistribution should absolutely happen and that is one of the most immoral things imaginable. She is a race bater and both are liars. Not making fun of joes mental decline but that doesn’t make me comfortable to have someone with his lack of mental cognitive ability (which he readily admits he doesn’t stutter) Just about the worst candidates imaginable.

What are you basing this on? Personality, morally, patriotically? I'm not sure how you have Biden in the same room as Trump, point to Biden and go, "He's the reprehensible one."

Speaking as a dude who has yet to get picked up (so take this with a grain of salt)... Be yourself. No, seriously -- if you have to put on a facade to get hired then you'll probably eventually regret it. It's a chance for you to get a feel for the unit just as much as it is for them to get a feel for you. There really does seem to be a pretty big difference in culture from unit to unit, even among the same aircraft. If this one doesn't seem like a good fit for you, remember that there might be another one out there that is. It's not worth putting on a fake persona. Don't ask questions just for the sake of it. Basic information about the unit's history and mission can be easily found online. Asking things like that poses the risk of making it look like you have little initiative. Do ask questions you're genuinely curious about. Most pilots are happy to tell you about what there is to do in the area, what neighborhoods are nice, what they do for work (if they're a part-timer), where they went to UPT, etc. Practice an "elevator introduction". You'll be meeting dozens of people so you want to be able to introduce yourself and give a little sample of your story in about 15-20 seconds, but without sounding too rehearsed. IMO you shouldn't necessarily try to sell yourself (like you might in an actual interview) here since that could come off as way cocky. Just stick to facts. Treat everyone you meet with respect, regardless of rank. If you do something that rubs them the wrong way, there's a good chance that word of it could make it to the pilots on the hiring board. This includes the most junior enlisted. You might get to drink at the squadron bar, but don't get too casual. It's a great opportunity to shoot the shit and let the real you out in a more relaxed atmosphere, but don't start treating members of the squadron like they're your buddies you've known your whole life. There's definitely a balance to strike here because you don't want to be too uptight, but it's probably not a good idea to start calling pilots "bro" or "dude" after a couple of drinks (I've seen it happen). To piggyback on that last point, don't drink too much (or even at all if you don't drink). Know your limits. It's a opportunity to get to know the unit in a less formal setting -- not an opportunity to get sloppy and show them you like to party. Take time to chat with other applicants too. IMO it shows that you're a team player and you're not antisocial. The connections you make can also be valuable too, I've kept in touch with other applicants I've met and learned a lot from them. It's also pretty awesome running into people you already know at other meet and greets.

Saw a tweet on Shaprio's timeline from Jeb Bush that sheds some light into FL being ahead on these things. Before I retired and was a DO of one of the National CPTs we spent a lot of time discussing election protection (CYBERCOM put this out there). There are a lot of states that are damn near medieval with how they run their elections. It's a benefit/cost of our system. We had to dig down into the frigging US code/Constitution to figure out where we could offer assistance if we were asked for it. You'd think the lawyers at CNMF would do that...nah. That's why the Guard is so important for cyber, gov's can just use them (see Louisiana recently). https://twitter.com/JebBush/status/1324168561582055426?s=20

I've mentioned this before and I'll say it again. The phrase, "Special consideration should be given to women and minorities and minorities for possible past discrimination" was given to promotion boards in the mid 90s. In 1994, the promotion rate target to Major was 73% of all eligible officers. The promotion rate for minority women was 94%. This did no favors to the reputation of those promoted or the Air Force itself with the AF losing lawsuits as a result.

Thought this was an interesting read on Arizona's shift from Red to Blue... https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/jodv7y/with_senate_win_mark_kelly_becomes_4th_astronaut/gb7u03m?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

He’s been mentioned here several times before. But I’ll echo. Dan Crenshaw has that kind of energy. But because he’s not a lib, he doesn’t get anywhere near the same media coverage and subsequent followers. But this guy, as a congressman, still has the capacity to generate more podcasts than I can find time to listen too. And every one that I hear is good. Everyone reading this thread should subscribe, regardless of your political beliefs. He’s a level headed voice of conservative reasoning. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hold-these-truths-with-dan-crenshaw/id1498149200 Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Possibly but the size, shape and volume of the 22 and 35 weapons bays are set and relatively small compared to bomber/arsenal platforms. Larger bays will allows new, bigger or just different weapons be developed to deliver better effects. Article on this idea and advocating for greater deep strike capabilities: https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/05/04/america-must-build-bomber-capacity-to-compete-in-the-pacific/

That’s exactly why they picked him. His outward appearance is of a moderate. His mental decline however can’t be denied and I highly doubt that major portions of the Democrat party didn’t see that as an opportunity. His health will either deteriorate to the point that he ends up resigning or the radical portions of the left will pull the strings and use teleprompter reading Joe as the mouthpiece. Admittedly, the R’s making gains in the house and holding the line in the Senate makes it much harder on the dems to implement their plans.

Just finished "Lessons From The Hanoi Hilton"....had several friends there. One spent spent 7 years, two others only a few. Met many more over my years attending AF POW reunions at the USAF Academy and Randolph AFB. With that said, I would not wanted a night there just to say I had "Been there and done that". Admiral Stockdale (comments from my friends) was outstanding. So I will not personally comment on how each POW accepted their fate. "Embrace The Suck" as life often gives us no other choice.

They were too low (I just reviewed the video). I remember talking about it with fellow aviators. Unfortunately you can't be a fighter pilot anymore. We were told we couldn't come in for the break when we were flying missions out of Isa Air Base because they were 8 hours long and leadership thought we would be too tired to handle the 3Gs and it wouldn't be safe. I was the only PMCF qual'd pilot on AM crew so I took a jet from maintenance, flew overhead doing the required check profiles for 30 minutes, came in for the break and was subsequently grounded.

Sadly there aren’t many humans worse than Biden / Harris. Sadly a lot of the country is voting for emotion and their dislike of trump. Not based on his record vs Biden’s. Very scary. Would I rather trump be a gentlemen like Ronnie? Yeah. But what he has done for our country in four years has been amazing in a very positive way.

If Biden does win this election, as it is looking like he will, this should be a wake up call for legislators of all stripes. Yes, Trump managed to effectively mobilize his base, but the majority of the country does not want a bombastic pathological liar in the White House. Great. However, as you mentioned, if Biden wins it will be by a very slim margin. Hardly a mandate as you say. It looks like Dems will at best eke out a tie in the senate and not much will change in the house. I’ll be honest; I was hoping for voters to punish the Republican Party for their unabashed support of Trump and force the party into introspection and change over the next four years. That didn’t happen. The American people have indicated they are not willing to give the Democrats a free hand to pursue what many fear will be radical policies. Fair enough. The message is, then, we’re done with Donald Trump but that doesn’t mean we’re ready for Bernie style “Democratic Socialism”. What the American people need now is for the parties to take a step back and understand that the “mandate” from the voters this time around is that we need them to find a way to cooperate and compromise. We are such an equally divided country it’s time to realize that a razor thin political advantage does not equal a mandate. The only way forward is to recognize the legitimacy and desires of the other side and try to find common ground wherever it exists. Am I hopeful that will happen? Not really. If Trump loses he will litigate as long as he can and will continue to whine about it until the day he dies. Many, many of his supporters will eat it up and the US Government will be forever illegitimate in their eyes. Not good. The only truly positive change I think will take place will be the fact that we won’t have a president who constantly attempts to inflame the American population. It’s a start I guess.

All I know is that I couldn’t vote for a lying, racist, homophobic person that couldn’t handle the Corona virus let alone his own family. Hence I did not vote for Biden.

I was thinking this morning Trump's like the Herc of politicians. Loud, lots of weird noises, not the most handsome on the ramp, requires lots of maintenance, probably smells bad... many people would say it's just generally offensive to most of the senses. But the capabilities! Anyone who bothers to look beyond the surface knows it does damn near anything you need it to do to protect the country. Prang it into the ground and it bounces back and keeps flying. Can take a bullet. Performs as well as anything else in the midst of chaos. It's why we keep it around. 😆

It certainly can be. One of the more difficult flyovers I led was for 2008 Air Force Week in LA. We held over the Rose Bowl. Because of LAX airspace, our initial inbound heading was roughly south, with a pylon turn to the west around downtown IVO East Los Angeles, for a westerly run in. Although the video looks like it is bright, it wasn't. In fact it was post sunset (we had a waiver). The downtown lights were very bright, and the Coliseum lights are pointed down and in, and don't show up until the last portion of the run in. Staying below LA's Class B with the huge amount of lighting in the area added to the difficulty. This was 12 years ago, and yes, GPS existed. But due to the non-linear IP-to-target run, the intricacies of SoCal approach and the potential flex of the Anthem, it was quite dynamic. And we are flying the A-model, not the C-model with whatever bells, whistles and HUD it has. We did extensive route study, timing contingencies, etc... and we trained like it was a "GPS-degraded environment". I suppose we could have laid down 99 waypoints on the curvilinear route we flew... but we didn't. We used a Sectional, LA TAC chart, and some aerial photos. Once the flyover was done, due to LAX congestion, we managed to get sequenced into the LAX traffic flow, did 2 night wing landings, well after sunset, in black jets, to 25L. Everybody involved in the evolution, including an F-16 pilot, TPS graduate, and a lot of high-time instructors, felt a good sense of accomplishment. The intricacies of completing the flyover included getting the formation to EDW, and getting the jets safely on the ground at LAX's FBO. We knew we were going to break a number of rules to get it done, and we got the waivers from HQ so we could do it. ALL OF THAT COORDINATION is part of making it successful... not just the last 10 miles of the run-in. Anyone can scoff doing flyovers if you want. And maybe my geekery combined with the fact I don't drop bombs gives me no "real world relevance". But I've done shitloads over the years and found ways to challenge myself on all of them. And I'm a better pilot for it.

He is mentioned in the memoirs of several POWs, including Leo Thorsness (MoH recipient who at one point shared a cell with McCain) , Bud Day, and James Stockdale (also both MoH recipients). They did not speak ill of him then, nor when he ran for President in 2000 or 2008. I'm personally going to take the word of three MoH recipients over "some guy my dad knows whose uncle was a POW", or some swiftboat conspiracy theory website that looks like it was designed for free on geocites in 1997. Throwing spears at the mans grave is pretty classless, imho.

“Give me a committed B student with a boiling will to win over an A-plus scholar with a careerist agenda, and we’ll be on our way.” Dan Pedersen in his book “Topgun” about his founding of the Navy Fighter Weapons School.

It always cracks me up how everybody in the chain of command can find a way to justify the thing they already wanted to do based on the latest strategic guidance laid down by the CSAF.

Stolen from reddit REF the laptop: Honestly I wasn't expecting the Tucker Carlson twist. A+ writing boys! How about we get some hot takes on the federal government trying to tell states how to run their election processes? Where are all my "states rights" homies right now? Should valid votes be counted or not? Orange man says no. Such a controversial topic evidently.

I dunno. I don't really care about the Bobulinski story or any other negative story about Biden or Harris. The reason I don't care, is that I've already made a decision to vote against the ideology that is the Democrat party. I don't need anymore convincing, and I don't want to try to win hearts and minds over to my side - especially on the internet. If someone is voting for Biden, I don't think you're going to convince them in an internet forum to vote for Pres Trump because of the Bobulinski story. And to be honest, if you could do that, that's not someone that we want voting. If you flip that situation and say Russian collusion = no vote for Pres Trump, I don't think you're going to convince people who are conservative to vote for Biden. Its noise. I don't think swing voters make a difference, just like I don't think any fence sitter makes a difference. I'm not a political science major (because I'm not mildly retarded), so I could be wrong. But that's what I see. Bobulinski and Russian collusion are fence sitter arguments that grab headlines. Those arguments don't matter. Which is fascinating, because they are in fact the headlines. Sorry about the jab on poly sci majors.

Yes, though it's a bandaid on a compound fracture. We need to embrace forced treatment for those unable to maintain a household. This is a weak area for conservatives who have no concept of what a hardcore drug addiction does to your mind. We want people to pick themselves up by the bootstraps, great, we gotta get their mind clean enough to do so. For liberals this means they have to stop pretending like letting people "live themselves to death" on the streets is some sort of virtue. Homeless people go to jail, not because they are criminal (though many are), but because you have to confine the addict to treatment long enough for it to take effect. For conservatives, just locking people away won't work. It's going to take money to fix this; treatment is expensive. And providing the anti-addiction drugs for free (forever) will also sting. Tough.

It's always the bat shit crazy ones... But how in the hell did anyone think she would be a good U.S. Representative?!? And why in the hell would anyone vote for her again? Our political system is fucked.

....4 years of investigation that found nothing. While plenty of evidence from Biden corruption, and no investigation.

I, too, picked Trump to take 300+ electoral college votes, so I, too, was wrong. Pity that... Still some drama to play out and the witch isn't dead yet, so we'll see how it goes. GOP retains the Senate, adds a fair number in the House. Enough to probably cause Pelosi to not be elected Speaker of the House next term since her party wants someone other than thousand year olds running things. But, and this a biggie for me, the best thing of this year's election cycle has been that it wasn't Hillary running for re-election. And with that, I'm reasonably content. v/r, another hilfuck Texan