Discussion for article #223871

I would define this as frustration with his situation, not the military.

Sounds to me like he was writing the words of frustration that a lot of soldiers no doubt were feeling as this war dragged on. I don’t really find it remarkable at all. War is not fun!!

Oh my god! A soldier griping about the stupidity of his noncoms and/or officers! Clearly a deserter in the making because it is totally, absolutely unheard of for soldiers to gripe about their officers and noncoms and their leadership in combat! Such a thing has never once occurred in the history of the world.

Unless, of course, you include every fucking soldier in every fucking army since the Hittite fucking Empire.

I mean seriously, in what goddamned universe is a soldier griping in his diary some dazzlingly newsworthy gym of insight into anything? This is ridiculous. It is utterly ridiculous. it is a classic example of how Republicans can turn mundane things, and even entirely fabricated things, into scandal and news simply by saying them (a thing Democrats can’t even seem to do with true stories of true scandal).

Literally every Soldier has thoughts along these lines at some point and they openly express them. If they say they haven’t they’re just lying. In and of themselves they’re completely unremarkable.

In today’s other headlines…

SQUIRREL!!!

Talk about a totally ridiculous non-starter of an article. I am a Vietnam Vet and served twenty six years as an Army officer. Neither me, my sergeants or any staff ever heard a soldier bitch …never. wink wink

JC Superstar, they issue a one hundred gallon of compressed piss and moan as soon as a troop finishes basic and is assigned a MOS and unit!

Hey media, keep fucking that chicken.

It does say something about how extremely, absurdly, almost comically, alienated most Americans, and most journalists, and particularly the journalists who think they’re experts on the military, are from the reality of military life that they thought this was newsworthy.

The reason that all this “analysis” of the “Bowe Bergdahl situation” is taking place is that the MSM has swallowed the Bagger playbook hook line and sinker.

The reasons for that are three-fold. First, it’s good for business. Second, the people paying attention tend to be the kinds of people for whom all this would be an issue. Third, with the constant noise, there is an excellent chance that some “Independents” or “swing” voters might be induced to the Bagger line of reasoning in this case (using “national security”–not scoring political points–as a fulcrum).

For these upcoming Congressional elections, the Democrats are in a fix. In terms of policies which would help the country more, they are substantially more prepared (see Elizabeth Warren, for example).

But the voting energy, unfortunately, resides in those who would vote for the Republican Party, in spite of their bankruptcy on so many levels of measurement.

There are the neo-Confederates (high energy)

There are the evangelicals (high energy)

There are the libertarians (high energy)

There are the fearful (high energy)

There in an entire region (Dixie) which is off limits to Democrats

There is another region (Plains states) off limits to Democrats

There is yet another region (Mountain) off limits to Democrats

There is an entire bloc of people (whites over 55) off limits to Democrats

The so-called “war on women” meme only works if the women are single (and they do not usually vote as reliably as married women)

The so-called call to arms for minorities does not have the ring that was present in the 1960s (when many COULDN’T vote)

The lack of the Military Draft as a political catalyst has made the Young more apolitical–there should be student riots based on the Republican-led filibuster of Elizabeth Warren’s student loan bill.

Much of the idea of youthful political activism depends on consciousness usually born of interest in and knowledge of social affairs and history. That has atrophied

The Democrats have about 4 months to figure this one out. If the Baggers retain the United States House of Representatives, not very much will occur in the way of significant legislation and actual policy. All Democrats have to do is vote. But Granny and Gramps have their number.

Those who would challenge the Baggers have always reminded me of a Snuffy Smith cartoon in the Sunday funnies I read long ago. Snuffy was confronted with a fire in his little town. He jumped up with alarm and barked out admonitions, expletives and warnings. And in the last frame of the cartoon he went back to sleep.

That has always been the metaphor to me of those who would challenge Baggers. On our side there is angst. There is outrage. There are all the organizations. There are the rallies. There are all the “social media” (non) events. There are all the emails every Democratic person gets EVERY DAY (I get 40 PER DAY).

All this commotion.

And, then, on election day, Democrats wake up and say to themselves, “Oh, I only come out to vote in Presidential elections.”

That is Snuffy’s last cartoon frame in a nutshell.

The title of this post has been Arianna Huffington approved.

Who wouldn’t be pissed at being left “with no sopport”…er…“support” and no means with which to defend yourself???

right here SIR!

Fubar does come to mind.

Translation from the military: soldiers bitch and have been bitching since the Bronze Age. And before there were soldiers, stone age warriors bitched.

I was in the Air Force during Vietnam. I bitched all the time about how stupid the military seemed. Just read Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I thought that was fairly close to how it was in the military.

The platoon mate who was doing all the inflamed tweeting at the start of this “scandal” said something like “everyone in our company was qualified airborne. He was the only one that wasn’t.”

He was just different than us? Not as good? Reckon that might have anything to do with the hatred dished on Bergdahl by his cohort in arms?

Yep. Check the FB page of anyone who is Active Duty.

Interesting post. I would argue that white people over 55 are not lost to the Democrats. Many of us are quite motivated to vote, and we donate and work for campaigns. I am more worried about the 18-30 year-old block. They are so disenchanted, and rightly so.

Is anybody else struck by the two distinct writing styles?
In the first, the writer seems barely literate with multiple misspellings and poor usage.
The second is more descriptive and almost poetic.
Maybe it has to do with auto correct, but it does seem odd

Catch 22…If you’re crazy they let you out, but if you want to get out, you can’t be crazy.

“about how stupid the military seemed”

“Platoon” goes there, too. FUBAR can be deadly.

…especially when the fubar is focused on the command tent. Everything from there out suffers.

to me it looks more like a lack of leader ship that he was referring too.