FourFans

This would solve 60% of it:

I think you mis-understand the argument. It's not about Christianity. It about the moral and ethical foundations of the country. Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values, principles, and morals. In the same way as a house, if you try and move the structure off that foundation, the whole thing collapses. Imagine Iran as a whole suddenly being forced to shift to Hindu, Buddist, or Christian values. The society would collapse. Same with America. The difference being that in America, so many people have had liberty and freedom that they paid no price for, for so long, that they don't appreciate what they have, so they are ignorant to the facts of our society's structure. There's reason Wokeness hasn't caught on in Russia, Iran, or China. Freedom and liberty, unfortunately, often result in ignorant arrogance after a few generations. So it's not about Christianity for Christ's sake, it's about Christianity because those values are the foundational structure of our country.

I've been wondering the same thing. It's probably because they have no clue what real racism is. Oddly enough I have yet to see the gay-pride flag version of corporate symbols and logos on anything at all in the middle east commercial market. It's almost as if the big companies only believe in DEI when it's instituted in the USA. Weird, right?

The truth usually is. That's why thin skinned people get butt hurt in debriefs. That doesn't mean we should back off from saying it.

So...ops normal for an airlift unit commanded by a crossflow turd snorkeling tanker clown?

FIFY.

@brabusI can't upvote that post enough. I will add this simple note to answer your "I want to actually solve the problem" point It's simple. Incentivize men to stay in the home, providing with and for the mother with whom they create kids. Protect the family unit, and America will survive.

Wait, you mean calling legislation "The Inflation Reduction Act" when it does nothing at all to reduce inflation because it increases the production of money and spending on A LOT of things (like Solar which is useful in, some, places) but decidedly insists on using more money...which has to come from somewhere... BY DEFINITION, INFLATION: "Monetary inflation is a sustained increase in the money supply of a country" I ask any liberal poster here: would you run your personal budget the way the liberal agenda supporters want to run our countries?

@nsplayrA sincere thank you the specifics behind your stance! Also, fully agree about the "biggest shit show" ...sigh...can Trump just go away, please? Curious question: Are you familiar with the research and books of Peter Zeihan?

Son, reading comprehension has failed. I asked clear questions which you refuse to answer. I made no implication on who to vote for, yet you say I did. I have made no attempt to sway your opinion, I've simply posed questions asking you to elaborate your beliefs. Instead you displayed ignorant arrogance. You have no clue who I am, nor what I believe, yet you pumped all your missiles into the "all thrust, no vector" fire ball. You're a no-step U for loss of SA before even getting out of the brief. I was really hoping for better. Disappointing. We're done here.

So you're going with option 3 dodge: "I don't want to talk about it" in reference to direct, reasonable questions I asked you. What Joe Biden and Trump have done, and are doing, to this country is EXACTLY the point. Especially when you advocate for or against voting for either of them. It's called reasoned public debate, ironically what the "forum" is designed for. I'm simply asking for you to elaborate your point of view with specifics. If you can't or won't, why should anyone listen to a single word you say? I'm asking for insight into why you believe what you believe, yet you obfuscate. You know very little of my own views, as you've asked no questions. Are you going to answer my questions, or just continue shifting the subject? For reference:

Perhaps, but I've never met these guys, so I'm not willing to believe that. Rhetoric spouted online is almost invariably an escalated and idealized versions of true beliefs. Everyone does that. I know I do. Cutting through to ground truth of a differing view is worth it to me, so I'll keeping asking questions until I'm actually answered. To be clear: guys like @nsplayrand @Prozac are invaluable resources worth listening to. They continue to post on what is largely a conservative forum despite often getting attacked or derided for their beliefs, yet they continue. That means they are true believers and I, for one, seek to understand what facts drive their beliefs. History teaches that the left mis-understands or completely fails to care about the beliefs of the right. If conservatives and moderates don't try to understand the left, there is no hope of any kind of compromise, and society splits...which we're seeing right now.

So you are saying Biden is honestly the best option for leading our country right now? Regardless of the track record to date? You're willing to vote for him again instead of someone like desantis who has a proven record of success in implementing policies that are both wanted by the people he leads and actually result in good outcomes? It sounds like you are advocating for siding with politics instead of reason because we can't change the world, so might as well accept shitty performance out of our leaders and move on. Do you accept that same stance with your financial advisor, mechanic, plumber, or home repair specialist? If not, please address, specifically, the items you are very happy with from Biden. You may agree with his policies, but please show me the exact outcomes in, lets say: economics, that you are pleased with. Do you believe Biden has unified or divided the country through his efforts? Is our international footing better or worse because of the policies of the last two years? Get specific please. You wouldn't ignore strange noises under the hood after a visit to the mechanic, and you'd want to know exactly what's wrong. I'm asking the same questions. Don't tell me to ignore what's broken just because "Politics has always been somewhat dirty/disingenuous/cynical". Without fail, every time I ask these kinds of questions I get one of three responses: "Somehow Trump's fault." "You won't understand because I already know what you believe" or "I don't want to talk about his." Never have a I heard a rational, unemotional explanation of why people are pleased with Biden. Not Once. The truest response I ever got was "Doesn't it make you feel good that we're voicing support for the oppressed?" Those aren't answers. That's dodging the question because those people are afraid to answer questions with real facts and are running away. So yes, I will call that what it is. Cowardice.

Truth about USAF FS sucking at their jobs aside...let's not pretend that the Flying Class 1 is a high bar.

I am neither conservative nor liberal, democrat nor republican. I never voted for Trump. I never voted for Biden. I currently have been voting more conservative simply because I have been agreeing topic to topic in that direction. It's not always been that way. For example: Democrats used to be anti-censorship and anti-authoritarian and I agreed with them often. Now they aren't, so now I don't. I'm an American who prefers adults making difficult decisions using humility, reason, logic, candor, and a certain level of social awareness. Our current president has none of those attributes. He is a hollow shell and you clearly understate all your critiques of him. It shows in how you carefully craft those critiques. Have the balls to admit the truth: Biden, Trump, and a vast majority of our current government have no business leading anything...ever. Yet you support them. If you let these people run your house or manage your daily decisions, you'd be homeless, divorced, and broke....and like addicted. I implore you to stop being a coward and call a spade a spade. Our government under Biden's administration has amplified political divisions rather then unifying as they claimed they would, has undercut our self-defense capacities, and is in the process of putting our economy nearly a decade away from fiscal recovery by way of spending beyond their means. There is no way you'd run your personal life the way this administration is, yet you actively support how they run our nations affairs. Such dissonance is not sustainable psychologically or socially. That's not understatement. That's factual information from each of those areas of focus. Ignore it if you want, but if you choose to refute it, please bring facts that prove your point, not emotions. You'll note I reference no social agendas, politics, or hot topic issues. It's the basics that are completely messed up. Live within your means. Make rational decisions. Protect the family unit. Don't pass on debt to your children. Unify, don't divide. Basics. If you insist on supporting agendas simply because they are "mainstream democrat" I beg you to reconsider. Acting in that way makes you what Marx called a "Useful Idiot", and you are hurting our country.

You're seriously still standing behind this guy?

I know some are adverse to facts...however, the $25,000 was established sometime in the early 90's (best I can tell). Congrats, they basically finally adjusted for inflation...for the first year of the 10 you'll be receiving it. Have fun with your AFPAK HANDS 2.0 assignment when they create it. Good work, great incentive. P.S. Don't take the bonus. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

I'm sure that counter-argument works well in the bar.

Kinda obvious when he has to follow a pilot to make it in the door.

Good points all. I'll increase the gain on my sarcasm detector.

That's cute. Be sure to tell the PJ that after he pulls your ass out of some shit hole. Everyone who's been there knows that the color of the nomex doesn't actually matter so long as it works. F the nonners. They play no part in a warrior's self esteem. I need to R2 my sarcasm detector

Agreed. However the context is vastly different. The overwhelming majority of the population in 1860 was intimately familiar with warfare, combat, death, and hardship at the individual level. Simply living anywhere west of the Allegheny Mountains was hard. Death was commonplace, and owning lethal weapons was a demanded way of life. Fast forward to our modern culture where life without toilet paper is considered difficult and owning a lethal weapon is actually a debated topic. A civil war, true violent cessation, and the attempt of one part of this country to break away from the other would require hardship to be endured by all individuals. Most importantly would be the economic hardship. Imagine trying to live in California or New York without the US federal presence or without the food provided by the midwest. Yes, cali produces things, but not the things that could support them independently. New York doesn't produce jack shit. We need each other. Any kind of real state fracture will readily expose that fact, and pressing into it will require serious endurance and privation at the household level. You think white suburban women came out of the woodwork to vote against trump? Imagine what would happen if you actually deprive them of their soy lattes and avocado toast. Frankly, modern American's don't have the balls for that kind of hardship...at least not over neighborhood politics. Southern Californians DEFINITELY don't have the balls for that. Modern Americans are all about kicking someone else's ass so long as that person is on the other side of a pond and can't actually hurt us. People in 1860 knew what blood spilt on our soil felt and looked like (1776 was less than 100 years prior, and then war of 1812), and were prepared to live through privation in support of a belief, and a patriotism they held dear. Modern Americans, writ large, are not. Less than 10% of our population has experienced combat of any kind, and less than that in our governing bodies. Our fractures will stop at political action, and I believe any re-organization (greater Idaho for example) will be largely peaceful and political, with any violence being restricted to localized policeable actions such as protests and riots. Militias are not about to start fighting each other or the federal military. Americans are both too smart and too comfortable to do that. Our country is not going to try and break apart. Re-arrangement and re-organization is possible though. My bet is that an international action sometime in the next five years will put all that to bed anyway. As a country, we galvanize like no other.

Primarily democratic politicans and democrat supporters...oh, and SVB. Shocking. Presumably @nsplayr if he's 'way more involved in democratic politics.' Unless he meant that as a little d democratic, not a big D Democrat. BTW nsplayr, just because you haven't met them, doesn't mean they don't exist. BLM made enough money for the shady purchase of a $6M mansion with donation money. That's not insignificant, but it is highly corrupt...and largely funded by your party. Accountability much?

I have to agree with @nsplayr on this one point: We're nowhere near a civil war. Such a thing would involve a vast majority of the population. Right now I would argue that 10% or less of the US population composes the highly vocal left and right. Civil unrest? More likely. If we can elect some leadership that moderate and actually has some form of wisdom in their decision making, we'll be fine. Our current administration is populated by muppets and morons, which is why we're in the economic, political, social, and international troubles we're in.