47

Sand Creek, Little Bighorn - I agree, pretty shameful.

Then there was trump's grand military parade.

My experience of the military is being raised by a marine and then helping to clean up the after-action mess during the 70's thru the 90's. I sent my son back to Paris Island in 2005-ish. I'm not a veteran, but sorta vet-adjacent. I think we need to be cautious about overgeneralizing.

I'm waiting to hear more about hegseth's pep talk.

heron said:

Sand Creek, Little Bighorn - I agree, pretty shameful.

Then there was trump's grand military parade.

My experience of the military is being raised by a marine and then helping to clean up the after-action mess during the 70's thru the 90's. I sent my son back to Paris Island in 2005-ish. I'm not a veteran, but sorta vet-adjacent. I think we need to be cautious about overgeneralizing.

I'm waiting to hear more about hegseth's pep talk.

 

 

Do you think we will get a readout of the Hegseth lecture of the new lethality plans for the Department of War? I read that Trump plans to attend this gathering and deliver remarks himself.  

What should we expect from a military that gives medals to those who massacre unarmed women and children? 

Beerman said:

I'm sure military folks laugh and then get quiet and uncomfortable when someone asks them about shooting civilians is because once they realize it's not a joke they're being cautious interacting with what they see as an unbalanced and irrational person.

I tend to agree.  The military presence in Washington has been peaceful and their weapons aren't readily visible.  I'm sure people feel safe around them.

There are some indications that crime is falling in DC.  But I also think it's a false narrative to turn us into a police state by saying Portland is a war zone or Washington is in a state of emergency.

I'm not sure how I feel, but I've been saying for years that we are a violent country beyond hope.  We block out of our mind that going to the grocery store, school, driving in traffic, movie theaters, church or on vacations getting read to go fishing (https://www.wect.com/2025/09/28/targeted-location-southport-pd-release-more-details-after-arresting-suspect-mass-shooting/ ) while a very minute risk is indeed a risk of being killed.    We've armed ourselves and killing each other at alarming rates and our politicians and even Kirk said this is the price we have to pay for freedom.  And then we send in the troops.

America.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dc-crime-data-national-guard-deployments-analysis/

toomuchbaloney said:

Do you think we will get a readout of the Hegseth lecture of the new lethality plans for the Department of War? I read that Trump plans to attend this gathering and deliver remarks himself.  

What should we expect from a military that gives medals to those who massacre unarmed women and children? 

It might just be a pep talk party for the Generals.  I think Hegseth is going to reiterate his anti-DEI and anti-woke stance against the military, and he's in the past said the military is too top heavy and should be reduced by 20%.  Maybe some of them will be given pink slips and/or pink slips to hand out to others.  

I don't think it will be a demoralizing meeting.  

I also think that for decades now despite our loss in Vietnam and Afghanistan, it's understood that we are the most powerful and advanced military in the world.  All countries understand this.  I hope so considering the budget breaking budget they get.  

Quote

"It's really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we're doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things. It's just a good message,” Trump told NBC News in a phone call. "We have some great people coming in and it's just an 'esprit de corps.’ You know the expression 'esprit de corps'? That's all it's about. We're talking about what we're doing, what they're doing, and how we're doing.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pete-hegseth-generals-military-meeting-rcna234216

Tweety said:

I tend to agree.  The military presence in Washington has been peaceful and their weapons aren't readily visible.  I'm sure people feel safe around them.

There are some indications that crime is falling in DC.  But I also think it's a false narrative to turn us into a police state by saying Portland is a war zone or Washington is in a state of emergency.

I'm not sure how I feel, but I've been saying for years that we are a violent country beyond hope.  We block out of our mind that going to the grocery store, school, driving in traffic, movie theaters and church while a very minute risk is indeed a risk of being killed.    We've armed ourselves and killing each other at alarming rates and our politicians and even Kirk said this is the price we have to pay for freedom.  And then we send in the troops.

America.

Yes. I have long grey hair worn in a braid.  I often open carry a weapon.  They may well think I'm crazy, especially if they are Trump fans. That's OK.

Even if they think I'm crazy,  I'm going to say the uncomfortable thing.  It's worth it to plant seeds because some seeds take root and grow into actual ideas and thoughts. These young men get lots of seeds thrown into their lives. 

We may have seen evidence of a seed taking root and growing into something in Grand Blanc Michigan the other day.  Maybe we will know someday whether Mormons were specifically targeted because of Kirk's martyrdom a couple of weeks prior.  It's an interesting coincidence in a time when the administration is trying to create the narrative that right wing extremists haven't been the larger source of domestic violence in the country forever.  

Tweety said:

It might just be a pep talk party for the Generals.  I think Hegseth is going to reiterate his anti-DEI and anti-woke stance against the military, and he's in the past said the military is too top heavy and should be reduced by 20%.  Maybe some of them will be given pink slips and/or pink slips to hand out to others.  

I don't think it will be a demoralizing meeting.  

I also think that for decades now despite our loss in Vietnam and Afghanistan, it's understood that we are the most powerful and advanced military in the world.  All countries understand this.  I hope so considering the budget breaking budget they get.  

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pete-hegseth-generals-military-meeting-rcna234216

Seems weird that they are going to such expense to bring them all physically to one place for a pep talk.  It's not surprising that the military might need a pep talk as the POTUS uses the military in American cities for no good reason.  Someone needs to convince them that this isn't unconstitutional. Pete and Don are going to give it their best shot.  

Trump sharing delusional messages about healthcare in advance of the meeting certainly doesn't give one warm feelings about Trump's general connection with reality.  

Meanwhile, is anybody else a bit nervous at having the country's entire military leadership in one place?

GrumpyRN said:

OK then, how about another example; My Lai? Again it is in the past but if your forces can do it once they can do it again. Why do you think I deliberately used a British example from the 70's 80's?

No, they get quiet and uncomfortable because someone has spoken the quiet part out loud and they know they may have to do just that.

Still not the same.

The narrative you're forwarding is that Trump wants to and will order troops to shoot unarmed civilians. 

And, no.  Military members don't know "they may have to do just that."

https://people.com/donald-trump-posts-deletes-ai-generated-video-promoting-medbed-conspiracy-theory-11820270

Let's talk about Trump's delusions.  Was that a weird joke or does he believe that technology exists? Where did he get that AI nonsense, who gave it to him? 

Who is feeding the gullible old guy the bad information? Is it the network whose on air hosts muse about killing homeless people or gassing the YN building? 

https://www.salon.com/2025/09/29/did-donald-trump-get-duped-by-fox-news/

Did Trump really lose the 2020 election? Are the immigrants really eating the cats and dogs? Do the hand tattoos really say MS13? IS Trump really good at this stuff?

Perhaps more importantly, this could lead to discussion of shared delusions, especially within a cult of personality.  

GrumpyRN said:

Maybe I have been reading too much fiction (The Gray Man series by Mark Greaney is a favourite just now) but having that many high powered people in one area at a set time that has been advertised and publicised online does not seem a good idea to me.

Remember the Brighton Hotel (UK) bombing in 1984? The bomb that was used to try to assassinate Margaret Thatcher was placed about 3 weeks before the conference started.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_hotel_bombing

Good books!