241–250 of 252 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> We've also lost the focus on clearly defined objectives for war. Are you saying we had this in Vietnam? And I don't think the evidence is strong that these "hard lessons" did anything to keep that same generation from supporting the pointless wars that followed.
No, I'm saying we had that in the Gulf War, and we're sliding back to Vietnam.
Wars used to be paid for by raising taxes. Now we have no idea how much they cost. How many years in a row has the Pentagon failed it's audit? How many years (decades?) was the Iraq war funded through annual (unbudgeted) emergency measures? How many trillions in promised healthcare does America owe its veterans? If the President had to make the case that taking on Iran would cost each American around $1000 on top of…
> Be honest about the actual costs of war and chances are we will get into fewer. This is a naive comment. The people deciding to send people to war do not concern themselves with the costs. The people concerned about the cost have no say in deciding to start military conflicts.
Then lets be honest about the cost of war. Lets raise income taxes. Lets set the top marginal tax bracket to 94% like it was during WWII. Lets double corporate income taxes. What taxes won't cover, pay for the rest by issuing war bonds.
How long do you think it would take before voters started replacing their representatives?
Opening graph: "We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost," says military contractor and all-around surveillance-enabler Palantir. If that's the case, then every war to be fought needs to have the say so of those that will be doing the fighting and not the solitary decision made by a delusional leader tha…
I've read their tweet: https://x.com/PalantirTech/status/2045574398573453312 It's hard to take them seriously given the omission of the biggest catastrophe of the 2000s-2020s that underlies everything they do, i.e., wealth inequality, the creation of a parasitic ruling class that uses propaganda to control the political narrative (and seeking AI for even greater control with less support), and the destitution of the…
What even is that list lol? So edgy
They are the biggest enemies of the people, the nation, and everything else people ever pretended to care about in this country. Leveling it, and beasts running is our only hope.
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War is a mighty economic engine, this cannot be denied. Isn't that the broken window fallacy writ large?
I may be misunderstanding but I don't think so. War forces people's hand in terms having to make progress. This is because during progress can be measured in number of body bags returning from the front and the reduction thereof. Our modern world was born out of scientific advancements made during WW2. Could these same achievements have occurred in peace time? Obviously the answer is yes. However during war, everythi…
I'm in favor of mandatory public service (not exclusively military) but I also don't think a private company should be weighing in on such topics, since it's just a bunch of capital owners preaching about what everyone else should do.
Who will pay for it? We can't even pay for education or healthcare.
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd/education-exp...
Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…
The Finnish compulsory service is 6-13 months depending on what field you pick (or are assigned in). There's also "civilian service" available which is always 12 months in a governmental location somewhere. Schools, hospitals etc.
Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…
Austria has this figured out... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zivildienst_in_Austria https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/gesetze_und_recht/we...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> How many years in a row has the Pentagon failed it's audit? The pentagon has NEVER been successfully audited.
All caps “NEVER” made me double check how many audits they’ve failed, and it’s only been since 2018 that the first “audit” occurred. Eisenhower warned of the industrial military complex in his farewell address in 1961, 57 years prior.