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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#47926: Jan 23rd 2013 at 11:24:01 AM

Good for who? FDR's policies were disastrous for the robber baron/magnate class of his period. They tried to stage a coup d'etat against him. Really.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#47927: Jan 23rd 2013 at 11:44:18 AM

Eventually the GOP is going to slip and flat out state they don't care about anyone who isn't absurdly wealthy. Hell, they've basically said it already.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#47928: Jan 23rd 2013 at 12:43:01 PM

It's not all of the Republican Party; that's sort of the problem. A big chunk of their monied supporters are, indeed, plutocrats, and therefore so are the politicians they buy. However, they have built a coalition around Angry White Men, a lot of whom are poor and would be shocked to understand just exactly what their party leaders stand for.

Thus, they must pay lip service to standing up for the little guy against Big Government Intrusion. That's the candy coating for their bitter reality.

It really is an amazing story of coalition building, if you think about it. You have plutocrats, anarchists (libertarians), theocrats (evangelicals), and racists all voting in lockstep against anything that even remotely smells of liberalism. Truly I would not have believed it had I not seen the results.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#47929: Jan 23rd 2013 at 12:59:44 PM

So, looks like rules keeping women out of combat roles in the military have finally been abandoned. To nobody's surprise, 99.999999999% of internet comments about it is insanely thinly veiled sexism about how inferior women are.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/women-in-combat_n_2535954.html

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:02:02 PM by Midgetsnowman

Pykrete NOT THE BEES from Viridian Forest Since: Sep, 2009
NOT THE BEES
#47930: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:00:20 PM

She did it entirely because of the acoustics of the area would have made the reverb mess the whole thing up.

I spent a good quarter of my life performing in football stadiums, one of which was specifically designed to throw sound all over the place, where I had to play in unison with people 40+ yards away, so all she'll get from me is a good "suck it up, pussy."

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:04:01 PM by Pykrete

Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#47931: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:03:59 PM

[up][up]Hey I support this move for men's sake.

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#47932: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:05:05 PM

[up]

I agree. I just find it funny it took less than an hour for idiots to trot out the tired old 'well, its like the NFL. women arent in the NFL because they cant measure up"

or the even more ignorant "well, now they'll see how fun combat is when they get kidnapped and raped" as though thats not already a risk for attached medics.

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:07:30 PM by Midgetsnowman

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#47933: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:07:15 PM

There is some validity to the argument that women taken as prisoners are more likely to be subject to rape and other indignities, on the basis that the enemies we fight don't believe in equal rights. I'm not sure how that argument uniquely applies to women, though, since the same could be said for soldiers of any ethnic, religious, gender, or other group that the people they are fighting particularly despise.

The other crap is just people insistently demonstrating how shallow their gene pool is. Frankly, if women wish to be soldiers and take the same risks as men, more power to them. We need brave soldiers of all kinds.

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:08:50 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#47934: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:08:34 PM

[up]

That may be true, but to be fair. women have already been attached to frontline units as medics or other "not combat" roles, not to mention, they do know the risk going in, so it kind of comes off as "my angel couldnt possibly survive outside her domestic lifestyle!"

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:13:37 PM by Midgetsnowman

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#47935: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:14:32 PM

Oh, I know. I'm giving it the credit of being one justification that at least has some basis in reality. There are other cases in history that are not gender-related; for example, I seem to recall hearing that Allied Jewish soldiers captured by Germans in World War Two Europe didn't fare so well.

Those aren't reasons for them to be prevented from serving, of course, but they're the sort of thing that I would consider a valid reason to grant a wish not to fight in the front lines.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#47936: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:20:09 PM

[up] Yeah. The point is, they have that right to make that choice. Anyone who doesn't get that is not only sexist, but also rather dense.

Though the military needs to have sub-zero tolerance for rape in-service. From what I hear, it's both disturbingly common, and often unreported/ignored.

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:21:36 PM by DrTentacles

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#47937: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:20:35 PM

Its just kind of sickening to see just how much sexism has vomited forth in the last few hours.

I mean, I know comments on the internet are always toxic, but 99% of Huffpost's comments on this article makes me hate other men to an almost genocidal degree.

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:21:50 PM by Midgetsnowman

DevilTakeMe Coin Operator from Wild Wasteland Since: Jan, 2010
Coin Operator
#47938: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:25:12 PM

[up] There is nothing wrong with a little misanthropy in regards to the baseless comments of idiots. Let's not forget that trolls still rule the internet.

Glove and Boots is good for Blog!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#47939: Jan 23rd 2013 at 1:26:36 PM

Well, good for our female soldiers. A few years from now, this issue will likely have been forgotten about; you hardly ever hear anyone bitching about the repeal of DADT anymore in the mainstream media. This is one of those "no duh" moments that nevertheless represents a major milestone in our culture.

Of course, sexual harassment in the U.S. military remains a major problem and will likely continue to be a problem for a long time, but that's not directly related to combat roles — if anything you'd imagine it getting better. I have never served but it seems that you necessarily grow to respect the people you fight alongside.

edited 23rd Jan '13 1:27:25 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#47940: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:08:17 PM

I just heard on the news that during the First Gulf War, at least one woman led a tank unit, or a similar front-line position.

This is technically illegal...until now.

Basically, the nature of war has leveled the gender standard in one aspect.

pvtnum11 OMG NO NOSECONES from Kerbin low orbit Since: Nov, 2009 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
OMG NO NOSECONES
#47942: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:51:48 PM

The ingrained social concern that "men are expendable and women are not" is hard to put away. It has historically been the men's job to move out and draw fire. Probably a horribly outdated worldview, but it exists.

Even I'm guilty of holding it. I'm going to need some time to process this properly.

Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#47943: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:54:22 PM

So, looks like rules keeping women out of combat roles in the military have finally been abandoned. To nobody's surprise, 99.999999999% of internet comments about it is insanely thinly veiled sexism about how inferior women are.

I wish they went the other way, and, rather than making it so that both men and women are in the military, make it so neither men nor women are in the military.

edited 23rd Jan '13 2:54:47 PM by deathpigeon

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#47944: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:54:45 PM

"Speaker Boehner: Obama's focus on shoving GOP 'into the dustbin of history'". Yep, and good riddance. Although Obama isn't really doing anything there; the GOP is doing it to themselves.

[up] Nice thought, but not very realistic.

edited 23rd Jan '13 2:55:07 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#47945: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:59:36 PM

I wish they went the other way, and, rather than making it so that both men and women are in the military, make it so neither men nor women are in the military.

Someday we will manage to replace our entire military with killer robots that look like Schwarzenegger.

It'll be totally awesome.

edited 23rd Jan '13 3:05:06 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#47946: Jan 23rd 2013 at 2:59:40 PM

[up][up][up][up] Like, there's a lot of reason behind that, but yeah, it kind of needs to get put away. Although I think there are situations where the military should prevent women from going to a warzone.

edited 23rd Jan '13 2:59:54 PM by Zendervai

ohsointocats from The Sand Wastes Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#47947: Jan 23rd 2013 at 4:18:13 PM

@Deviant: there should at least be some fembots in combat roles. You know, because we aren't sexist.

Ultrayellow Unchanging Avatar. Since: Dec, 2010
Unchanging Avatar.
#47948: Jan 23rd 2013 at 4:23:33 PM

@I loathe Zero Dark Thirty. Absolutely can't stand it. I hope it does horribly at the Oscars. It's a horrible, terrible movie that attempts to justify torture as a policy.

Except for 4/1/2011. That day lingers in my memory like...metaphor here...I should go.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#47949: Jan 23rd 2013 at 4:26:19 PM

[up]I thought the Oscars happened already.

edited 23rd Jan '13 4:30:45 PM by Kostya

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#47950: Jan 23rd 2013 at 4:28:10 PM

Nice thought, but not very realistic.

Oh, certainly. But a man can dream.


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