Comments on: Updated: Goons Against Gays, Gun Owners & Other Good Folks

By: Roger Chaillet

Roger Chaillet — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:21:26 +0000

Conscription will put the true cost of the wars in the Middle East on public display. The Pentagon will not have to source troops from Mexico, Haiti and elsewhere. Hard to be an anti-war activist when friends and family are not coming back in body bags, but Third Worlders are. The Pentagon has discovered the joys of outsourcing war to the Third World. Perhaps this is why the elites can continue to support the "voluntary" military? And "punitive"? Not for the likes of George Bush and Ted Kennedy. They'll attend university or play hooky instead.

By: Æ

Mon, 11 May 2009 16:59:57 +0000

Roger – conscription is hardly an answer, not even in the odd, head-in-the-sand world of the left-libertarian. It sounds more punitive than anything.

Ms. Mercer – reading the link in your post, would you go so far as to bar women from service even in the traditional roles in which they have served, such as nurses? I have always wondered if we can truly call ourselves civilized when we send our women to war…

By: The Editrix

The Editrix — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:49:35 +0000

Women ought not just be barred from the military, but from any profession where their presence will potentially endanger other peoples’ lives. I wonder how many soldiers, policemen, etc. have come to grief when that atavistic reaction got the better of them and they tried to protect their female team mates. In Germany (from where I write) police staff have to inform their superiors when they have entered a private relationship with a colleague, so they won’t be deployed together anymore. On a different note: Not too long ago, the crews of several patrol cars (if I remember correctly all but one female) failed to unarm a psychotic with a knife. After he had wrung the gun from one of the policewomen, another one shot him dead. Several crews of men might have been able to unarm the man without killing him. Another dead man for a politically correct cause!

By: Roger Chaillet

Roger Chaillet — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:16:28 +0000

I’m all for gays and women in the military.

Let’s start with Dick Cheney’s daughter. Since he is a warmongering pansy, the only fair thing to do is have his daughter be his proxy and go off to war on his behalf.

Ditto for George Bush’s dysfunctional daughters. Daddy was too busy skirting his military obligation by hanging around various watering holes. His daughters can make up for his enthusiastic and no doubt patriotic partying by going off to war in his stead.

Good luck with either of these two scenarios occurring in your lifetime.

By: Steve Hogan

Steve Hogan — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:17:11 +0000

Having been in the military many years ago, I can tell you first hand of the resentment many of us felt at the blatant double standard imposed on men. A simple morning run in basic training was a daily reminder that, when it came to the fairer sex, we were not subject to uniform standards.

The sight of seeing the women being picked up by the van trailing the run was really demoralizing to the group. Everyone knew that we were actors in a play. It was our job to pretend that everyone was equal.

The same holds true for racial preferences. I remember having to put my life on hold for three months while they vetted minority applications for Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS). This was back in the late 80’s.

We’ve been subjected to the silly and destructive social experiments of bureaucrats for a very long time. How anyone would be willing to place any trust in these fools to make life fair for everyone defies description. It’s bad enough when they impose this nonsense in the private sector. Doing it with the military has deadly consequences, and should be stopped immediately.

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:51:32 +0000

It is somewhat fortunate that during World War II, scientists vehemently rejected becoming uniformed military – so I do not go around in some spiffy duds saluting co-workers. Unfortunately, the US military (especially the Air Force and least the Marines) are bloated with dentists, accountants, lawyers, bug exterminators, etc. who wear the uniform and get to retire for 40 years on a pension starting in their mid-40’s. We could probably turn 50% of more of the service into civilians. What the hell should it matter if an Air Force dentist is gay and why do they need a uniform – are they going to do a root canal in an F-15? The uniformed military should be reduced to combat and direct combat support activities in defense of American lives and property. The military should not perform nation building all over the planet and not occupy foreign countries for decades. Among combat-ready troops, it makes sense that they be physically fit men who keep their private affairs private.

By: Alex

Alex — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:56:28 +0000

That is a radical thing to suggest. But I suppose that if we are speaking reasonably instead of politically (which are two different things), then that would be a reasonable thing to say.

The problem is that even lesbian amazons have to deal with physical problems that men do not, and are often pawns and activists in a feminist political agenda – really just a form of gender socialism.

This is a very gutsy thing to say – the kind of stuff I expect from you Ilana.

Still, I imagine you are going to get a lot of flak for saying this..

~Alex