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[misko27]

Guns turn people stupid.

One of the gun crazies I know almost shot one of his relatives, because they let themselves into his home unannounced.  He's only just recently started purchasing guns and practicing with them, but already regards himself as an expert.  And of course his first reaction to a noise downstairs is to investigate at gunpoint.

But I don't think they turn everyone crazy.  My uncle has a large gun collection and simply enjoys shooting, but I can't imagine him behaving that way.

It'simportant to notethat,as a example, 80% of americans think of themselves as above-averge drivers. Presumbably the same effect is evident amongst guns. I would not want to be near ANYONE, who thinks they good with a gun, and isn't.
 

The Crazy faction is not insignificant within the NRA.

What is sad is I heard my Canadian News outright say on the air that the Crazy people who spoke for the NRA were "fair" to show because they did in fact represent a large number of Americans.

Which is kinda... odd.

I'm going to go out and call this a case of anti-american bias. I could easily point to other insane people in other countries.
 
 

[FearfulJesuit]

Senate's going to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, again, with new protections for Native American and LGBT women. With the hope of cornering the House GOP. We'll see how this goes...

Boehner warns against something that was obvious anyways.

And, how to raise the debt ceiling without raising the debt ceiling.

[MaximumZero]

I'm going to go out and call this a case of anti-american bias. I could easily point to other insane people in other countries.

I wouldn't be quick to call it anti-American. Our crazy people are just really loud about it.

[RedKing]

So...might be worth noting that as his tenure as SecDef is winding down, Leon Panetta decided to just...oh, I don't know...remove the ban on women in combat?

That's a pretty damn big deal, on par with DADT in terms of transformative effect on the rank-and-file.

[Owlbread]

It makes sense that Obama and Panetta would end up being far more radical towards the ends of their respective terms.

[Scoops Novel]

This should be politics.

How long can it be politics?

[Karlito]

Think women will have to register for the draft now?

[RedKing]

Think women will have to register for the draft now?

Good question. So far, no. The operative idea being that a society always wants to protect its young, fertile women in a war so that it can repopulate afterwards.

I'm all for lifting the combat ban, if for no other reason than it's already been operationally breached. Women have fought and died (and won medals) in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, because there's no such thing as "rear-echelon" areas that are safe. But whereas a male soldier can wind up getting promoted for combat service, a female soldier cannot. It's less about getting women into combat, and more about recognizing that they're already there and ending discrimination against them in terms of rank and reward.

[Karlito]

Think women will have to register for the draft now?

Good question. So far, no. The operative idea being that a society always wants to protect its young, fertile women in a war so that it can repopulate afterwards.

Yeah, I already thought up that argument, though honestly, I'm not sure how much safer the civilian population would be in a war with modern weapons where reinstating the draft became necessary.

As far as I can tell, the combat exemption on women has been the primary legal argument in upholding the Selective Service Act, when it's been challenged in court. Though, I expect we won't see any change to the current system unless conscription is reactivated.

[Owlbread]

I don't see why young men should have to suffer disproportionately. Women should be conscripted along with men out of the very principle of equality.

If you make a concession there on the grounds that women are "Necessary" for repopulation and raising kids and so forth, you're not only sticking to the current gender roles that stick in so many feminist/masculist craws (i.e. that women need to stay at home and raise those babies, it's not like a father could do that after all) but you're also keeping a principle that could conversely apply to race, religion and so forth.

Why not insist on targeting certain black populations for conscription into the infantry because of their alleged stamina? Why not target East Asians for the intelligence service because of their stereotypical dedication to their intellectual training?

[Owlbread]

Huh. This just came up on the news, and one guy said women shouldn't serve because 'we need our brightest and best on the line'.

Basically, he said women are worse than men >.<

It really is sexism. I mean, you could talk all you want about how women are allegedly less physically able than men or whatever, but in modern warfare if you can follow orders to a T, fire your gun accurately, understand the local culture of the area you are (for the moment, invariably) invading/occupying, not mistreat civilians and be inspirational while you're at it - that's all these governments really need. They don't need olympic athletes. They need to be at a certain level of physical ability of course, but as far as I know women can hit that level no problem.

[RedKing]

The following countries include females in their conscription policies:

Benin
Chad
Cuba
Eritrea
Israel
Libya
Malaysia
North Korea
Taiwan
Tunisia

In some of those cases, it's because it's a rigidly socialist society actually practicing equality. In a few cases (Israel, Taiwan and Eritrea come to mind) it's because there's a perceived need for full mobilization because of the military threat.

Neither of those are the case in the United States. And if we were ever in the shit bad enough that full mobilization was needed....this is all going to be a moot discussion because we're fighting aliens from what's left of the wreckage of our cities.


EDIT: And I actually agree that we need our best and brightest on the line. Which is why I'm in favor of lifting the ban. Cause look at your average infantry platoon and you're going to see a bunch of 18- and 19-year-old guys whose main off-duty pasttimes are hitting the tattoo parlor or the strip club. These are mostly guys who would be frat jocks if they were in college. Increase your recruiting pool, and you can afford to rasie your entry standards (which have been way too low for some time, IMHO).

[Owlbread]

I think it's still important though that our countries, be they Scotland, the USA or Russia, should have conscription for both sexes set in law if we're going to have conscription at all. Even if it's a purely hypothetical situation we should have a clear line of equality running through all government legislation if we're going to go down the route of equality at all. No point in only going down it for as far as it suits us; we should be committed or not at all.

I'd also seek change to the current laws over father's rights. My parents and I have far less rights to see my niece than my brother's ex partner's parents/family, simply because she's her mother. As a result I haven't actually seen my niece for several years. I don't think she even remembers who I am. I presume the case would be the same in the USA.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

The USA doesn't have a draft or conscription. The Selective Service System is political maneuvering bullshit because Congress doesn't want to catch flack for "weakening the military" by removing an outdated measure that not even the military themselves wants anymore. Even in the most trying times since the establishment of the SSS, the military has never even considered invoking it. Instead, they offer increased benefits to higher quality potential recruits, because the days of conscripted armed forces have passed into legend. A military does not need quantity in the modern world, they need increased quality, and conscription does not give you that.

[Karlito]

Even in the most trying times since the establishment of the SSS, the military has never even considered invoking it.

Care to clarify that a bit? The SSS has been around since 1917 in one form or the other.