Maybe the entire world has just gone mad, and it’s as simple as that. Here are some additional facts from Trump’s ridiculous trip to Japan. When he wasn’t busy dissing Joe Biden and extolling the virtues of Kim Jong-Un, Trump addressed troops aboard the USS WASP, and this is how they prepared for his visit.
Airmen onboard the USS WASP wearing patches on their jumpsuits that read “Make Aircrew Great Again.” The patches include an image in the center in the likeness of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/rQKAyrcDte
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) May 28, 2019
Dude. ?
I’m a big believer in synchronicity, but this seems very coordinated. The one wildcard in play is the military. We already know police have largely been compromised by ethno-nationalists, and sure, military to a certain degree, but this takes it to a whole new level
— Flan Bites (@flanbites) May 28, 2019
*sigh* ya I've been thinking the same – this isn't the first instance of falling-in-linesmanship we've seen but when it gets to looking this bad – I mean whoa.
— ? Frank ? Make Sense Not War ? (@model_daughters) May 28, 2019
This is where things started and then it really went batshit crazy. Donald Trump announced that he was redesigning aircraft carriers in the future, and we’re going back to steam, folks. Yes, you just read that. Bloomberg:
President Donald Trump told U.S. troops stationed in Japan he plans to order traditional steam powered catapults aboard American warships instead of newer electromagnetic systems that he said may not work as well during wartime.
Trump polled the sailors and Marines on the USS Wasp on steam versus electric catapults Tuesday during a visit to the the Yokosuka naval base south of Tokyo, the biggest overseas U.S. naval installation
The tour came at the end of the president’s four-day state visit to Japan, a key military ally. The troops’ cheers were audibly larger for steam catapults — used to launch aircraft off navy ships — and Trump took note.
“We’re spending all that money on electric and nobody knows what it’s going to be like in bad conditions,” he said. “So I think I’m going to put an order — when we build a new aircraft carrier, we’re going to use steam.”
The U.S. Navy intends to buy two Ford-class aircraft carriers Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said earlier this year. The Ford has long been a source of frustration for Trump, who has bashed the carrier’s Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, which is replacing the steam catapults.
Biden, Kaine, they’re all part of Hillary and the emails, right? Apart from that, though, this newest idiotic comment further cements Trump’s philosophy of life, if we can deem it that. Take America Back to the Stone Age, should really be his motto. He’s always spewing off about how new technologies are bad, as though he actually understood any of them.
Here’s the black humor in all this: if he keeps courting the likes of Kim Jong-Un, we may be back in the stone age, anyway, and then things will be very simple, and Trump-esque. Remember what Einstein said? “I don’t know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Well, this is cheerful.
I’m not particularly agitated at the airmen. While Trump is a villain to me…he is the president, and their commander-in-chief, and it’s their right to show support.
I say that from a place of having been thinking lately about what my generation can contribute to the conversation and the culture. I think the central value that we can bring to the table is tolerance – tolerance of those we agree with, tolerance of those we don’t, and tolerance to an appropriate degree of that which we fervently dislike.
I came of age in the era of Columbine, and I think my generation learned that intolerance and hatred can create monsters as much as it can justifiably criticize them. That is to say, we cannot tolerate a kid who buys weapons and intends to shoot their classmates…but if we could show tolerance, inclusion and compassion before that kid becomes a monster we might be able to prevent that transformation from ever happening.
Are these airmen monsters? We don’t have any evidence of that. All we know is that they showed support of the president for whatever reasons…and the internet responds by insinuating they are racist ethno-nationalists. That is a form of intolerance, and I don’t think it really helps our case against Trumpism. And at worst, I think it can harden hearts and help turn people into monsters. Or at least obstacles to progress.
So given the context of everything that’s going on in the world, I’d personally choose to be tolerant of these airmen. I’m appreciative they’re serving, and I like that they took the time to make patches that were respectful, even if I completely disagree with the ideology behind the message. If they like, we can discuss why Trump isn’t particularly well-suited to make the military stronger or safer, which if not likely to be a productive conversation, is at least more tolerable that the twitter sniping everyone seems to think is the best option.
You make a persuasive argument, but it still scares me that the military is pro-Trump when every freaking thing he says or does shows that he has zero grasp of international affairs — which means that military people can be called to some new war zone at any time. If I was in the military now, and reading what Trump says and does, I would be freaking out, not wearing some cartoon on my sleeve. There’s something in this story that I don’t get, maybe it will come out later on.
Any military wearing personal trump crap totally sucks. I do not agree with it at all. And BTW, the ‘image,’ of trump is rather ridiculous. Just a little bit idealized.?
I agree and that’s my take on it as well. I think this is horrifying. Maybe they think Trump did get rid of ISIS? I ask this, because I actually spoke with a young airman here in the states and he told a friend of mine, “I like Trump because he got rid of ISIS.” And then of course I asked him what his source for this revelation was, and the “social” event went to hell on a bobsled. I’m confrontational with these MAGAt idiots. Maybe that’s not helping the cause, but the time for being polite is over. Too many people are willfully ignorant these days and all of us are paying a price.
Ignorance is bliss. Yuck.
Are we sure it’s not an image of Mitt Romney dressed as Trump for Halloween? Because that’s kinda what it looks like.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DceTGwGVMAAK2DI.jpg
This is wonderful. I’m so glad you figured out a way to embed it. I’m not that capable on this software.
It’s not okay. It’s unethical and unlawful and the military chain of command should have stopped it, no matter who originated it.
His dad probably told him how awesome steam was, back when he was five. That’s good enough for him.
The pattern with him is alarming. He wanted to take computers out of planes, now the same thing with aircraft carriers, and of course global warming is a hoax. He really needs to STFU about all of this. But that’s not going to happen, it’s only getting worse.
Harumph! Why do we need anything New? The old stuff works just fine!
I wonder, then, why he doesn’t feel the same way about wives?
The ship’s captain should be relieved of command for allowing this and all personnel who compromised their uniforms with this political speech should be dealt with per the Uniform Code of Military Justice as this is a flagrant disregard of military directive outlines here…..
192.168.1.1:8181/http://ogc.osd.mil/defense_ethics/resource_library/deskbook/political_activities_ppt.pdf
Thanks LBS, I was going ask if it was even legal for them to be wearing those patches. Everything tRump does is meant to undermine this country, weaken us, make us more vulnerable for what ever take over he and Vlad and Kim have planned for us. I heard on NPR this afternoon that he’s demanding that climate forecasts not be made for more than 20 years in the future. I missed hearing who he’s demanding that of, NOAA or who. Why are we letting the most insane inmate run the asylum?
The Navy is currently investigating this incident per The Hill….
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/445839-navy-reviewing-if-service-members-violated-policy-by-wearing
Thank you for the link.