Richard Bong posted:

My brother is in the ER with shortness of breath.

Both my parents probably have it too. My mom was actually sick enough to get sent home from the hospital she works at and await a call for the test.

gently caress.

Richard Bong posted:

My brother is in the ER with shortness of breath.

Both my parents probably have it too. My mom was actually sick enough to get sent home from the hospital she works at and await a call for the test.

gently caress.

EBB posted:

Santa Clara County sent an e-mail to us today: Would you like $1000? Know where an old ventilator is?

Arrath posted:

Just yesterday a friend, generally a pretty smart guy, said to me "I just want the least government involvement possible"

You got your wish dude, look where it got us!

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Something this crisis is revealing is a mindset among many Americans that I've thought about previously, but hadn't quite put into words on paper.

There is a general sentiment among these people that "America is Great." If you ask them why, they'll of course rattle off a variety of platitudes—freedom, democracy, markets, ARE TROOPS, etc. But for the most part, the fact of America's Greatness is treated as a given, threatened only by ~the libs~, terrorists, and other extremely vague enemies.

There are many reasons, of course, why the United States is such a powerful, wealthy, and influential country: Two and a half centuries of expansion, reform, industry, and luck. It happened because people built systems that were refined over generations, often through bloodshed, whose benefits are now so taken for granted and spared so little thought that to the average person they may not exist at all—even if these systems have an immense impact on their daily lives.

But for the "America is Great" crowd, greatness is not a series of deeply interconnected systems and circumstances—greatness simply is, and even when they acknowledge those systems it's as an obstacle to further Greatness rather than an underpinning reason for it. The United States didn't win World War II through intense preparation, close cooperation between industry, the government, and labor, and the mass sacrifice and bloodshed of American, British, and (especially) Soviet blood—we did it because we were just that great. The United States didn't outlast the Soviet Union in the Cold War because the Soviet system was filled with deep, irreconcilable flaws dating back to the Stalin era and exposed by war, changing political winds, and economic crisis—it was because we were always destined to win, because we were great. And on, and on. And because greatness is a given, they don't have any interest in how it came to be or what it takes to maintain it—and they assume that no matter what they do, it will always be there—so long as a goddamn socialist doesn't get into office.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the response to COVID-19. A common question you often hear is "How could this happen? How could the richest and most powerful country on earth lack ventilators and protective equipment? How could we be so unprepared?" The answer, of course, is simple: We were unprepared because the administration, now almost entirely filled with loyalists to a man whose campaign slogan is "Keep America Great," did not believe preparation was necessary. They believed that the sheer fact that America was great would protect is and shepherd us through the crisis, with no expense or sacrifice required. And even now, as the crisis deepens, their focus isn't on saving lives and protecting the American people, without whom there would be no America—but on protecting "The economy," an arbitrary number made from imaginary dollars that, in their final sense, are mere pieces of paper or digits on a screen. Hundreds of thousands of may die, but they worked hard to protect what mattered—and after all, wouldn't millions more have died if America wasn't Great?

The firing of Captain Crozier, and the response by the Naval Secretary, is a microcosm of this attitude. Crozier, who has been a naval officer since before I was born, and in command of one of the most powerful warships ever built, recognized that each of his hundred thousand nuclear-powered tons of his vessel was worthless without the lives and health of his sailors. Faced with a crisis, he did what he had to do to protect his crew, temporarily ceasing operations to ensure the ship and her crew could regain combat status as quickly as possible while maintaining morale. But in response he has been intensely criticized and removed from his post—not for not acting sooner and more decisively, but for "violating operational secrecy" and leaving our country open to exploitation by vague, undefined enemies. For in the minds of those who believe in America's inherent greatness, it does not matter how effective the ship is, or whether the crew lay dying of preventable disease—only that they do it out of sight, belowdecks, and that the ship remain sailing.

There is a quote I sometimes think about, one I've used before. In 1941, the British Army had lost the Battle of Crete. Tens of thousands of soldiers were stranded on that Mediterranean island, their only hope lying in an evacuation force protected by the ships of the Royal Navy. Sailing without air cover, the ships were hideously vulnerable to German air attack, and several warships were sunk. But at the height of the battle, when asked whether to call off the evacuation, Admiral Cunningham replied: "It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition. The evacuation will continue."

In the end, three cruisers and six destroyers were sunk—but fifteen thousand men were rescued.

If you count from the Declaration of Independence (Though even that document has roots over a thousand years deep), it has taken nearly two hundred and fifty years to build America to what it is now: Three hundred and fifty million lives, connected together not just by lines on a map or pieces of paper but by a shared belief in the idea of America. They are what makes, and have always made, America 'Great' — if it ever truly was. But the people who believe in America's inherent greatness don't see that.

All they see is the ship.

That Works posted:

Did you write this? Nice stuff.

Milo and POTUS posted:

What was that tweet that trump latched onto recently and it turns out the "person" he was obsessed with was in all likelihood a bot

EBB posted:

Santa Clara County sent an e-mail to us today: Would you like $1000? Know where an old ventilator is?

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Something this crisis is revealing is a mindset among many Americans that I've thought about previously, but hadn't quite put into words on paper.

There is a general sentiment among these people that "America is Great." If you ask them why, they'll of course rattle off a variety of platitudes—freedom, democracy, markets, ARE TROOPS, etc. But for the most part, the fact of America's Greatness is treated as a given, threatened only by ~the libs~, terrorists, and other extremely vague enemies.

There are many reasons, of course, why the United States is such a powerful, wealthy, and influential country: Two and a half centuries of expansion, reform, industry, and luck. It happened because people built systems that were refined over generations, often through bloodshed, whose benefits are now so taken for granted and spared so little thought that to the average person they may not exist at all—even if these systems have an immense impact on their daily lives.

But for the "America is Great" crowd, greatness is not a series of deeply interconnected systems and circumstances—greatness simply is, and even when they acknowledge those systems it's as an obstacle to further Greatness rather than an underpinning reason for it. The United States didn't win World War II through intense preparation, close cooperation between industry, the government, and labor, and the mass sacrifice and bloodshed of American, British, and (especially) Soviet blood—we did it because we were just that great. The United States didn't outlast the Soviet Union in the Cold War because the Soviet system was filled with deep, irreconcilable flaws dating back to the Stalin era and exposed by war, changing political winds, and economic crisis—it was because we were always destined to win, because we were great. And on, and on. And because greatness is a given, they don't have any interest in how it came to be or what it takes to maintain it—and they assume that no matter what they do, it will always be there—so long as a goddamn socialist doesn't get into office.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the response to COVID-19. A common question you often hear is "How could this happen? How could the richest and most powerful country on earth lack ventilators and protective equipment? How could we be so unprepared?" The answer, of course, is simple: We were unprepared because the administration, now almost entirely filled with loyalists to a man whose campaign slogan is "Keep America Great," did not believe preparation was necessary. They believed that the sheer fact that America was great would protect us and shepherd us through the crisis, with no expense or sacrifice required. And even now, as the crisis deepens, their focus isn't on saving lives and protecting the American people, without whom there would be no America—but on protecting "The economy," an arbitrary number made from imaginary dollars that, in their final sense, are mere pieces of paper or digits on a screen. Hundreds of thousands of may die, but they worked hard to protect what mattered—and after all, wouldn't millions more have died if America wasn't Great?

The firing of Captain Crozier, and the response by the Naval Secretary, is a microcosm of this attitude. Crozier, who has been a naval officer since before I was born, and in command of one of the most powerful warships ever built, recognized that each of his hundred thousand nuclear-powered tons of his vessel was worthless without the lives and health of his sailors. Faced with a crisis, he did what he had to do to protect his crew, temporarily ceasing operations to ensure the ship and her crew could regain combat status as quickly as possible while maintaining safety and morale. But in response he has been intensely criticized and removed from his post—not for not acting sooner and more decisively, but for "violating operational secrecy" and leaving our country open to exploitation by vague, undefined enemies. For in the minds of those who believe in America's inherent greatness, it does not matter how effective the ship is, or whether the crew lay dying of preventable disease—only that they do it out of sight, belowdecks, and that the ship remain sailing.

There is a quote I sometimes think about, one I've used before. In 1941, the British Army had lost the Battle of Crete. Tens of thousands of soldiers were stranded on that Mediterranean island, their only hope lying in an evacuation force protected by the ships of the Royal Navy. Sailing without air cover, the ships were hideously vulnerable to German air attack, and several warships were sunk. But at the height of the battle, when asked whether to call off the evacuation, Admiral Cunningham replied: "It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition. The evacuation will continue."

In the end, three cruisers and six destroyers were sunk—but fifteen thousand men were rescued.

If you count from the Declaration of Independence (Though even that document has roots over a thousand years deep), it has taken nearly two hundred and fifty years to build America to what it is now: Three hundred and fifty million lives, connected together not just by lines on a map or pieces of paper but by a shared belief in the idea of America. They are what makes, and have always made, America 'Great' — if it ever truly was. But the people who believe in America's inherent greatness don't see that.

All they see is the ship.

Handsome Ralph posted:

https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1247301011947085825

https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1247302760242036738

Richard Bong posted:

My brother is in the ER with shortness of breath.

Both my parents probably have it too. My mom was actually sick enough to get sent home from the hospital she works at and await a call for the test.

gently caress.

Acebuckeye13 posted:

Something this crisis is revealing is a mindset among many Americans that I've thought about previously, but hadn't quite put into words on paper.

There is a general sentiment among these people that "America is Great." If you ask them why, they'll of course rattle off a variety of platitudes—freedom, democracy, markets, ARE TROOPS, etc. But for the most part, the fact of America's Greatness is treated as a given, threatened only by ~the libs~, terrorists, and other extremely vague enemies.

There are many reasons, of course, why the United States is such a powerful, wealthy, and influential country: Two and a half centuries of expansion, reform, industry, and luck. It happened because people built systems that were refined over generations, often through bloodshed, whose benefits are now so taken for granted and spared so little thought that to the average person they may not exist at all—even if these systems have an immense impact on their daily lives.

But for the "America is Great" crowd, greatness is not a series of deeply interconnected systems and circumstances—greatness simply is, and even when they acknowledge those systems it's as an obstacle to further Greatness rather than an underpinning reason for it. The United States didn't win World War II through intense preparation, close cooperation between industry, the government, and labor, and the mass sacrifice and bloodshed of American, British, and (especially) Soviet blood—we did it because we were just that great. The United States didn't outlast the Soviet Union in the Cold War because the Soviet system was filled with deep, irreconcilable flaws dating back to the Stalin era and exposed by war, changing political winds, and economic crisis—it was because we were always destined to win, because we were great. And on, and on. And because greatness is a given, they don't have any interest in how it came to be or what it takes to maintain it—and they assume that no matter what they do, it will always be there—so long as a goddamn socialist doesn't get into office.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the response to COVID-19. A common question you often hear is "How could this happen? How could the richest and most powerful country on earth lack ventilators and protective equipment? How could we be so unprepared?" The answer, of course, is simple: We were unprepared because the administration, now almost entirely filled with loyalists to a man whose campaign slogan is "Keep America Great," did not believe preparation was necessary. They believed that the sheer fact that America was great would protect us and shepherd us through the crisis, with no expense or sacrifice required. And even now, as the crisis deepens, their focus isn't on saving lives and protecting the American people, without whom there would be no America—but on protecting "The economy," an arbitrary number made from imaginary dollars that, in their final sense, are mere pieces of paper or digits on a screen. Hundreds of thousands of may die, but they worked hard to protect what mattered—and after all, wouldn't millions more have died if America wasn't Great?

The firing of Captain Crozier, and the response by the Naval Secretary, is a microcosm of this attitude. Crozier, who has been a naval officer since before I was born, and in command of one of the most powerful warships ever built, recognized that each of his hundred thousand nuclear-powered tons of his vessel was worthless without the lives and health of his sailors. Faced with a crisis, he did what he had to do to protect his crew, temporarily ceasing operations to ensure the ship and her crew could regain combat status as quickly as possible while maintaining safety and morale. But in response he has been intensely criticized and removed from his post—not for not acting sooner and more decisively, but for "violating operational secrecy" and leaving our country open to exploitation by vague, undefined enemies. For in the minds of those who believe in America's inherent greatness, it does not matter how effective the ship is, or whether the crew lay dying of preventable disease—only that they do it out of sight, belowdecks, and that the ship remain sailing.

There is a quote I sometimes think about, one I've used before. In 1941, the British Army had lost the Battle of Crete. Tens of thousands of soldiers were stranded on that Mediterranean island, their only hope lying in an evacuation force protected by the ships of the Royal Navy. Sailing without air cover, the ships were hideously vulnerable to German air attack, and several warships were sunk. But at the height of the battle, when asked whether to call off the evacuation, Admiral Cunningham replied: "It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to build a new tradition. The evacuation will continue."

In the end, three cruisers and six destroyers were sunk—but fifteen thousand men were rescued.

If you count from the Declaration of Independence (Though even that document has roots over a thousand years deep), it has taken nearly two hundred and fifty years to build America to what it is now: Three hundred and fifty million lives, connected together not just by lines on a map or pieces of paper but by a shared belief in the idea of America. They are what makes, and have always made, America 'Great' — if it ever truly was. But the people who believe in America's inherent greatness don't see that.

All they see is the ship.

CommieGIR posted:

https://twitter.com/sgtjanedoe/status/1247325535933521921?s=19

Arglebargle III posted:

llamao

https://twitter.com/stevenportnoy/status/1247326243307036674

https://twitter.com/stevenportnoy/status/1247326755511304192

BUG JUG posted:

Might steal and drop this a couple places.

ded posted:

Which time? Oh recently. Not sure it happens so often.

shame on an IGA posted:

hahaha that's the secnav?

motherfucker looks like the bastard child of McNamara and The Beast Rabban

Mr. Nice! posted:

Modly has now apologized to Capt. Crozier according to a tweet I saw just now in CSPAM.

That Works posted:

Impressive words considering where they are coming from.

https://twitter.com/mccaffreyr3/status/1247188902286209025

Nostalgia4Butts posted:

Handsome Ralph posted:

https://twitter.com/dave_brown24/status/1247198856523198464

That Works posted:

Impressive words considering where they are coming from.

https://twitter.com/mccaffreyr3/status/1247188902286209025

quote:

Donald Trump has said he asked US pharmaceutical companies working on experimental coronavirus drugs to approach Boris Johnson’s doctors and offer their help, after it emerged that the British prime minister was in intensive care.

Richard Bong posted:

My brother is in the ER with shortness of breath.

Both my parents probably have it too. My mom was actually sick enough to get sent home from the hospital she works at and await a call for the test.

gently caress.

EBB posted:

Is it just me or does Modley have the worst hair plug job in history.

Handsome Ralph posted:

https://twitter.com/byPatPoblete/status/1247354041878921218

loving wowwwwwwwwwwwww