TriGirl

Interestingly, the Marine Corps considered something like this a few years ago. Not direct to LtCol but definitely coming in at a higher rank than just O2. And to put it into context, these four were commissioned in the reserves. And Army considers for promotion and command by branch, so it's doubtful these four will be eligible for much in the near future. However, all that being said, yeah, it's a bit much. About your first question: No, white women (whom I have met/worked with) are not as Trumpy. Then again, most women I work with are officers with significant experience in foreign affairs, so they are definte opposed to him. I don't think there are higher percentages of "Christians," but from my small bubble, there certainly is NOT the higher representation of the blind loyalty, MAGA-type Christians. A friend of mine is a recent immigrant. She married an enlisted soldier with whom she attended Liberty University. She has her green card, and posted on election day a pic of herself wearing a MAGA hat and cheering the results. Now she's having to put off visiting her parents in Papua New Guinea, because she's concerned she won't be able to get back in the U.S. if she leaves. Yet, she hasn't expressed to me any regret for supporting this admin.

Hey, Joe. At that time, before the election, agreed. You could also just characterize the gap as being between enlisted and officers, as there are orders of magnitude more enlisted veterans than commissioned officer veterans (I still see it amongst the active duty ranks of both groups). However, especially for veterans, the ones actually seeing the long-term effects of his policies are starting to make some noise. The only problem is where they get their info. If they don't hear about the issues, they won't be opposed until it happens to them. And another "majority" demographic: if they aren't unmarried women or if they supported Trump, these protections for veterans seeking VA services won't change for them at all. T

See? Exactly. Get rid of. Kick them out. Move on and leave that behind.

Yes, it means to get rid of, or "dump" Trump. In restaurant terms, it means to take an item off the availability list because the kitchen ran out of it. In 2020 the numbers were 86451103 (election day in 2020 was Nov 3). The only people who think "86" means to assassinate are those who would also consider "take care of" as having the same meaning. Funny, because a crime boss would try to say in court that he wasn't making a threat when he told someone that they had a nice family, and "it would be a real shame if something happened to them."

Hey, Jerry, Actually, we were already writing 86451103 back before the 2020 election (86 45 11/03). And for FOTUS to claim "86" refers to assassination -- that just goes to show he likes to associate with gangsters. It's like saying "nice [life, family, car, business] you have here; would be a shame if something were to happen to it." Defense attorneys would argue that "my client didn't make a threat! He was just making a comment," while prosecutors would insist that in the realm of organized crime, that kind of language means that the one making the comment expects something to keep "something" from happening (threat). In the world of normal people, "86" just means get rid of, or get out of office. But since FOTUS likes to hang out with gangsters, where "get rid of" means "permanently," that's where his mind goes.

Hey, John, Add Pete Buttigieg to that list. He isn't even in public office right now, but he is still doing interviews and chat shows talking about policy. He has always been a great orator (IMHO), and I would love to see him go for Senate at least. Maybe he needs to move his family to Kentucky and challenge either of those seats.

I'm more concerned about her DHS access badge. And why did she need to carry around her passport?

islands

I tried to tell my father why I did not appreciate working for DoD under this secretary (he was surprised when I didn't gleefully agree with him that Hegseth was a great SecDef). I told him Hegseth was woefully unqualified for the position. Looks like Secretary Kegstand is proving me right time and again.

Hey, Wendy, On my mother's side I qualify to join Daughters of the American Revolution. On my father's side, I'm second generation born in the U.S. My father's parents may not have been U.S. citizens at all, though they moved down from Canada and my grandfather worked for the auto industry for most of his adult life once he came to the U.S. (started out in Ukraine, then Austria then Canada). Funny enough, my mother's side is quite liberal, while my father's siblings and the cousins on that side are following the current version of the GOP (whether or not MAGA, at least supporting it).

I volunteer to serve as foreign affairs. :)

IRL

Hey, Nigel, I have been a fan of Buttigieg since I first heard him speak when he was seeking the nomination for president. He never disappoints. He can get his talking points across while having an ACTUAL, on-the-fly conversation. He can back up his stance and can respond to follow-up questions -- all because he KNOWS what he's talking about. I really wanted to see a Harris-Buttigieg ticket on the D side in 2016. Of course, too many voters in my country are still too backward to vote for a woman of color AND an openly gay guy (Buttigieg needed some federal-level experience before jumping to the top of a ticket, IMHO). I would like to see him as Secretary of State in a future administration. I can't wait to see what else he does. Tanya

Literature

For example, the color line that is terminating every female or non-white person from senior levels of command in the US military, and replacing them with white males. Let's compare the resumes of General CQ Brown and Lt Gen Cain. dogyks, please do so, and let me know which one seems more qualified to be CJCS. Or even why Brown does not meet the mark if Cain is qualified.