Tag: Military Bases

The Grinch Is Alive And Living In Florida.

How many times in the last decade have you heard about the Dems and their attempts to kill Christmas?

Well if you live in Florida  there is a new culprit…..

Tis the season … to hold your horses. The AP reports military families who live in a community of homes near Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base and put up Christmas decorations already were told they jumped the gun by their landlords. The Guardian reports a “tersely-worded memo” sent last week by private housing contractor Balfour Beatty Communities stated a drive around the neighborhood made clear that several homes had put up holiday displays too early, in violation of community guidelines. Holiday decor is only allowed within 30 days of the holiday itself, per those guidelines, and Christmas lights specifically can only be displayed from the week after Thanksgiving through the third week of January—provided they’re only turned on from 6pm to 11pm.

The directive, which came in an email titled “One holiday at a time,” drew mixed reactions after it was posted to an unofficial Air Force Facebook page. Some residents said people should be able to find joy where they can, while others said Thanksgiving deserves its own month. Tyndall public affairs chief Capt. Justin Davidson-Beebe confirmed the memo’s authenticity but clarified it did not come from the military. “Since community standards are set by the privatized housing management company at some installations, standards may vary from base to base,” he noted.

Who’s killing Christmas now?

Maybe Donny should get involved after all he needs all the help he can get with his approval rating.

Personally I am not a big decorator for any holiday….but people that are thrilled about the upcoming Christmas season should be allowed to celebrate.

Maybe Hogsbreath being the uber-religious dirt wad should get involved with this attempt to kill the Christian part of Christmas……or is he too worried about the men in the military and their bodies?

Just asking.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Will This Help?

Everybody in Washington is scrambling to find a way to counter the protests and the issue of race.

The military has their idea….rename bases that are named for Confederate generals……

The death of George Floyd in police custody and the ensuing protests are sparking changes in law enforcement, media, and business—and now the US armed forces. Earlier this year, the US Army said it had no plans to scrap the names of any of its 10 bases named after Confederate leaders—ie, Fort Bragg, Fort Lee, and Fort Hood, to name a few—even though at the time it was announcing it would no longer allow images of Confederate flags at these sites. Now, however, in the wake of Floyd’s killing, military bigwigs say they’ll entertain a conversation on a possible renaming. “The secretary of defense and secretary of the Army are open to a bipartisan discussion on the topic,” an Army spokesperson said in a statement Monday for Mark Esper and Ryan McCarthy, per Politico.

The statement added, however, that “each Army installation is named for a soldier who holds a significant place in our military history. Accordingly, the historic names represent individuals, not causes or ideologies.” Still, as Politico points out, even these individual histories aren’t stellar: As an example, it cites Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, “a major slave-owner and … largely considered to be one of the most incompetent generals of the Civil War.” One person who agrees the military sites should be renamed: former CIA chief and retired Gen. David Petraeus, who resigned in 2012 amid an affair scandal. “We do not live in a country to which Braxton Bragg, Henry L. Benning, or Robert E. Lee can serve as an inspiration,” he writes in an op-ed in the Atlantic. “Acknowledging this fact is imperative.” More from him here.

Confederate monuments have reemerged as a national flash point since the death of George Floyd. Protesters decrying racism have targeted Confederate monuments in multiple cities, and some state officials are considering taking them down. Pelosi lacks the authority to order the removal of the 11 Capitol statues honoring Confederates but is urging the little-noticed Joint Committee on the Library to vote to remove them. Senate Republicans share jurisdiction. The presence of statues of generals and other figures of the Confederacy in Capitol locations such as Statuary Hall—the original House chamber—has been offensive to African American lawmakers for many years. But the chairman of the Library Committee noted, “the law does not permit the Architect of the Capitol or the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to remove a statue from the Capitol once it has been received.” States determine which of their historical figures to display at the Capitol.

I agree that these changes should occur but why now?

They have needed addressing for many decades and now they are important….why?

Could it be the new bill the Dems are offering for consideration?

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/09/dems-j09.html

They, Dems, realize this piece of theater will go nowhere once it gets to the Senate it will die……so as usual the powers will do the “DC two step”…look like they are doing something when they are doing nothing.

I say do not accept this ‘compromise’ stay in the streets where changes will occur……

Stay in the streets…..it is working…do not accept anything but change……https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/08/stay-streets-its-working-two-weeks-racial-justice-protests-new-york-state-classifies

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Was That A Bribe?

AS I was doing my morning reading and research I came across a bold headline that caught my attention……”Poland Offers US $2 Billion”…….after that title I had to breakdown and read the article……

Poland has long expressed interest in securing a permanent deployment of foreign troops from a NATO member nation. The Polish Defense Ministry has confirmed that they are willing to pay the US up to $2 billion if it is an American base.

Defense Ministry officials say that there is a “clear and present need” for Poland to have a permanent US armored division in their country, and that they are willing to help defray the cost of deployment with the money. They say this will make the deployment more “cost effective.”

In reality Poland, like most developing countries, sees a US base as both a guarantee of more US military support, and an economic boon for the surrounding area. They seem to be assuming that President Trump’s long insistence that NATO nations pay a “fair share” will make him amenable to this proposal

http://theantimedia.com/poland-offers-2-billion-military-base/

Okay Poland wants a permanent base, why?

We already have those bases in Germany and Poland is not that far away so why does Poland want the base….for protection?  Why?

There is a “NO” side to this situation…….

What makes NATO the most successful military alliance in history is the cohesion of its members. Any policy that risks undermining that should be examined with a highly critical eye.

Establishing a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland, as has been reportedly requested by the Polish government, is exactly one of those cases. Such a move should only be taken if consensus can be achieved among all our allies that it would enhance deterrence and improve the overall security situation for NATO.

That is unlikely to happen — and with good reason.

https://www.politico.eu/article/dont-put-us-bases-in-poland/

I agree……… I do not see the need for another base in Poland….plus I do not like the idea of a bribe to  influence our foreign policy……as bad as it is these days.

Should the US accept the bribe and put a permanent deployment of American troops in Poland?

Withdraw?….We Gonna Stay!

The perfect description of Trump international policies.

A couple of days ago….or was it weeks…..who knows for sure…..crap flies around so much it is hard to keep up with when it all began…anyway awhile back Trump made some comment about the future of American troops in Syria….

He stated that troops would be withdrawn from the country soon….and then he changed his mind…..

Despite the US’s insistence that it intends to pull troops out of Syria (at some point, possibly in the distant future), local media report that the US has set up a new military facility in Eastern Deir ez-Zor – not far from ISIS’s last major stronghold in Syria, which was crushed by the Syrian Army back in November shortly before they declared victory against ISIS. The region is also known for being rich in oil.

According to the reports, the new base is located in the al-Tanak oilfield, which is controlled by Kurdish forces. Form their new outpost, American personnel have been ferrying new supplies to the front from the town of Khasham, in southeastern Deir ez-Zor, to the city of Hosseinieh, situated northeast of the Deir ez-Zor region.

http://theantimedia.com/new-us-military-base-isis-stronghold-syria/

A new base?  Does that mean an increase of American troops deployed to Syria?

Moon Base Echo!

Together Into The unknown!

These days there is a lot of push back against Russia…..did they interfere in our elections?  Did they turn any Americans into spies?

So when I read this story I found it interesting that the US and Russia have a joint operation for the Moon…..

Two words: Moon base. AFP reports the US and Russia will work together on a NASA program to build the Deep Space Gateway, a space station in orbit around the moon. NASA and Russia’s Roscosmos signed an agreement to cooperate on the station, which will be “an invaluable pit stop for human and robotic exploration of the lunar surface” and “a staging point for deep space missions” to Mars and Venus, on Wednesday at the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Australia, according to Motherboard. While the Deep Space Gateway program is being led by NASA, Roscosmos will contribute docking ports and life support systems, and Russian rockets will be used to help with construction, Engadget reports.

NASA wants to start work on the Deep Space Gateway, which will be crewed by four astronauts, in the mid-2020s. It’s one step toward its goal of sending humans to Mars by the 2030s. In statements, Roscosmos and NASA say they share a “common vision for human exploration.” The Deep Space Gateway agreement is important for a number of reasons. It clarifies NASA’s goals and how it will achieve them after years of funding issues. It also makes it less likely Congress will put the kibosh on the Deep Space Gateway at some point. Finally, the agreement will be one more thing keeping the US and Russia from—as Engadget puts it—descending “into outright hostilities.” Space is so far one of the few places where tensions between the two countries haven’t risen recently.

Could this be a new beginning for cooperative work between thew US and Russia?

I do not see this coming to a reality any time soon….too much animosity towards each other right now.

Storm approaches…..

When Is Too Many Too Many?

With every incoming president there is the endless promises of budget cuts and easing of the deficit…..and almost always one of the first issues is the closing of military bases….of course the Congress people will protect the ones in their district because it is worth billions to keep them open.

Sadly there needs to be some reality injected into that debate…..and an opinion piece has been written and a realistic look at this issue……

Members of Congress have a hard time agreeing on virtually anything, and they’re already butting heads with the new president. But one issue should unite them: a new initiative to shrink the Pentagon’s massive overhead.

President Trump and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have pledged to cut waste. And key leaders in Congress have renewed their calls for rationalizing the Pentagon’s base structure. Now is the time for Congress to come together, put the national interest over parochial interests and finally support a new round of base closings.

Source: America Has Too Many Military Bases | The National Interest Blog

Anyone that comes here knows my feelings on this…..but in case you are new reader…I do not see why some of these bases cannot be closed….even some of the ones overseas….we have our troops stretched to the limit as it is…..plus the Pentagon budget never takes a hit….most times it is increased at the expense of other need programs….time for some realism in our approach to this situation….

What’s In The Name?

You have run into those people that are on the Right that term everything as “politically correct” especially if you do not agree with their wrapped sense of morality……well government is NO stranger to this type of “labeling”……

There is a new budget initiative and as with every new budget there are rumblings of “base closures” to help the country save money…….well some in the Congress are worried about the term and how it would be perceived by the people when it was made public especially if there are military units in their districts….

Every year, initial Pentagon budget requests include talk of closing unneeded military bases within the US, with their latest estimates saying they could save $2 billion annually with some simple base closures designed to eliminate excess space they simply don’t use.

Every year, Congress shoots the plan down, because no one wants base closures to happen in their state. This year though, there seems to be less resistance, though Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R – NE) made it clear that they’re not comfortable with the term “base closures.”

Rep. Fortenberry urged the Pentagon to rebrand the effort as being run by a “military infrastructure savings commission” instead of a “round of base closures.” The semantic difference apparently is significant, though there were still no promises of support for the plan.

The Pentagon is in the midst of a study on exactly how much excess capacity they have, but officials estimated that around 20% more bases than they need, with the Air Force estimating their own capacity was above 30% more than needed.

(antiwar.com)

I love it!  Re-name the issue so that it bores the public to tears and they can get away with the cuts and closures…..trying to prevent the panic that the announcements would have on families and communities….make up one of those lame acronyms that DC is famous for…..

Just another of those damn silly games Washington plays when they think no one is watching…..then they cannot understand why the public thinks they are a mess of clowns….go figure!