There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
This is where my completely opinion based opinion disagrees with you. Opinion.
When it was Obama at the helm, I would have agreed with you. I reassured all of my friends and family that "the only way the key will turn is if something is big in the news (either massive single event, or super long also massive somethingorother) and politicians and civilians and political allies alike are all demanding we use it."
With Cheeto Von-Goosington in charge, I have to doubt it will be the same level of restraint. Look at his history as a person and a leader. He literally has a list of people he wants to get back at. He has shown no restraint. He has shown no respect for humanity or life or his fellow man. I have no reason whatsoever to expect him to hold back from being a bully with everything in his power, should he decide to do so. I just...I honestly just hope he gets impeached or something before his trigger finger gets too itchy.
My words were not meant to be comforting. America is nearly always embroiled in a war like I described.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
So Trump has the nuclear codes now right? Or is this one of those things which gets more officially handed over later in some capacity?
Like, it turns out one of the things which stops me sleeping at the moment is ongoing fear of waking up to find out he's done a surprise strike on Syria or something.
In fact I'm worried I'm going to wake up and find out it's even being contemplated openly.
I actually think it'd be very difficult for the US to do something like that. Despite the apparent response time, there are actually a lot of steps that have to be followed between the Pres saying 'go' and anything actually firing. The US has built its entire nuclear infrastructure around not using them.
?
I thought the US nuclear arsenal was designed the opposite way, for a quick strike. So there is very little turnaround between the president ordering a launch and the missiles firing.
They also run constant drills where the officers actually turning the key and launching the nuke don't know if it's a drill or the real thing.
They have, from their point of view, literally nuked Russia thousands of times.
Edit: When the order comes, only the Sec. of Defense (and maybe State)could stop it, but that's about it. Which would mean getting fired and replaced with the next guy that will follow the order.
We know the difference.
It's like the difference between firing on a firing range, and firing a weapon at a person/animal you're hunting.
The physical actions you take are exactly the same.
But you know that at the range nobody dies.
War Games didn't get it quite right.
It was actually discovered that the accuracy of musket-lines in drilling (basically marching a formation of guns up to a white sheet and putting holes in it) did not correspond to the actual number of causalities in after-the-fact reports. Most people have a natural aversion to killing and even animals are mostly about posturing and making themselves look bigger to scare off rivals. Modern drilling is intended to override this aversion to killing by conditioning, but the upshot of this is that you have much increased rates of PTSD later.
It's a subject that interests me enough that I'd like to see more evidence of this sort of PTSD happening to knights and the like in historical accounts, rather than second-hand accounts in Greek plays or Henry IV. It's hard to distance yourself from violence when you're swinging a sword at the neck of some poor bloke.
I also hear there's a huge turnover in the sorts of people who pilot drones, which I imagine are for similar reasons. People develop a conscience about shooting some poor bloke with a missile on camera.
I really do hope somebody goes with their conscience and makes enough noise about it publicly that the nukes do not fly. Especially when confronted with temper-tantrum Trump behaving like the usually unhinged lunatic that he is.
You best bet of stopping a determined Trump who wanted to nuke people would be enough of the brass refusing the order that it gets delayed at least long enough for the cabinet to incoke the 25th amendment.
Trump can put a lot of yes men into the leadership but the Joint Chiefs would fight a truly idiotic order.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
That's the thing, though. The rest of the administration is evil but mostly sane. The guy at the very top/center, with the authority to give the order, very possibly isn't.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
hippofant on
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OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
At first you'd be tempted to question their use of Grump Trump as an image, but when that's how he looks on his official picture you can't really complain when used for comic effect.
These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts”…
When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question…
When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was….
These are not normal times.
The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before.
What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. "A lie, is a lie, is a lie!" And if someone won't say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society.
There is one group of people who can do a lot - very quickly. And that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump's presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be "what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?" If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview.
Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.
There has to be some way of making boatloads of money from ending an interview on a politician
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
Chaos
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
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MayabirdPecking at the keyboardRegistered Userregular
I hope no one came out of all the marches with a feeling of catharsis, as if this fixed all the problems and everybody can all go home. That was barely step one, the opening skirmish of a war for the soul of civilization that may never end.
I hope no one came out of all the marches with a feeling of catharsis, as if this fixed all the problems and everybody can all go home. That was barely step one, the opening skirmish of a war for the soul of civilization that may never end.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
Chaos
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
This. The Horned Rat is an amalgam of Nurgle and Tzeentch.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I think even in a fully-justified situation (say, North Korea misfires something that nukes Nowhere, South Korea), fear of armageddon would knock a good 10,000 points off the Dow. If you hit a major city, even as a one-off incident, 15,000 points off.
Uncertainty is the great economic catastrophe, and there's nothing more uncertain than "will i be alive tomorrow?"
That they keep inviting Conway shows you how deeply unserious TV news is. It's all about the show.
Or they're giving the admin an opportunity to get ahold of as much (figurative) rope as possible.
She certainly seems committed to being an insufferable jerk about everything, so hey it makes for good tv and is useful to remind people that a key spokesfigure for the administration is an insufferable jerk.
"Let's get Conway on the line, SNL has plenty of material, but let's see if we can't get them something really good."
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
I think it's funny to have set the bar so low for Mr. Trump that, should he and the US survive four years without getting impeached/nuked, he will have been considered to have exceeded expectations for his office. I don't remember any president that has had this luxury.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
That they keep inviting Conway shows you how deeply unserious TV news is. It's all about the show.
Or they're giving the admin an opportunity to get ahold of as much (figurative) rope as possible.
She certainly seems committed to being an insufferable jerk about everything, so hey it makes for good tv and is useful to remind people that a key spokesfigure for the administration is an insufferable jerk.
"Let's get Conway on the line, SNL has plenty of material, but let's see if we can't get them something really good."
Unfortunately there is nothing that can shock Trump voters. There is nothing low enough. If they don't care about Trump's dubious links to Putin, why should they care about Conway and her complete disregard for the truth?
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
Chaos
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
This. The Horned Rat is an amalgam of Nurgle and Tzeentch.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
He's an incompetent Imperial Governor or Lord General. The kind that is insulated by power and sends countless men to their deaths to no good purpose. Or the kind of man who sits atop so much institutional inertia that even he can't fuck up a Hive City too badly.
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
Chaos
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
This. The Horned Rat is an amalgam of Nurgle and Tzeentch.
No. No don't ruin Skaven for me.
Trump tweets "Sad!", "MAGA", and cackles with madness in his eyes and his twitter finger rots off. A sign of favor from the Horned Rat
There are not enough checks. That's why electing a maniac to the presidency is a bad idea.
Note that if Trump gives the order to use nuclear weapons, it's not going to be something random like "Nuke Sweden, their PM said something horrible about me. " What will happen is that Trump gets us mired in some horrible war that grinds on forever and no progress is being made. The armed forces are getting ground down by having their limbs blown off by IEDs and the people there loathe us. So Trump gets mad and decides that Japan surrendered pretty quickly after the nukes went off and gives the order to nuke the biggest mass of enemy resistance to teach them a lesson. The armed forces, who by now despise whatever this country is, and want to get out, don't put up much resistance.
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
Chaos
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
This. The Horned Rat is an amalgam of Nurgle and Tzeentch.
Posts
I can neither confirm nor deny the requirements of the launch message that gets sent.
But that did make me giggle.
My words were not meant to be comforting. America is nearly always embroiled in a war like I described.
there isn't this guy will do anything to shut up his critics. We have to be vigilant
Off the top of my head, and bearing in mind I'll never know about the actually classified stuff, I can think of three or four scenarios like this which have occurred, the question of first-use came up, and it was recoiled from. That's not counting God only knows how many others where it wasn't seriously discussed despite people salivating over the possibility (e.g., both Iraq wars, the First Chechen War, etc).
Militaries aren't orks even if a lot of them like to present themselves that way at times. They'll be wholly aware of the security implications of using nuclear weapons in anything other than a second-strike scenario.
(More cynically, the most oligarchic administration since the Founding Fathers will probably be hesitant to destroy the global economy, which even a single warhead first strike would probably pull off outside of really particular circumstances. Not only would they be risking death in the counterstrike, but they might lose money!)
It was actually discovered that the accuracy of musket-lines in drilling (basically marching a formation of guns up to a white sheet and putting holes in it) did not correspond to the actual number of causalities in after-the-fact reports. Most people have a natural aversion to killing and even animals are mostly about posturing and making themselves look bigger to scare off rivals. Modern drilling is intended to override this aversion to killing by conditioning, but the upshot of this is that you have much increased rates of PTSD later.
It's a subject that interests me enough that I'd like to see more evidence of this sort of PTSD happening to knights and the like in historical accounts, rather than second-hand accounts in Greek plays or Henry IV. It's hard to distance yourself from violence when you're swinging a sword at the neck of some poor bloke.
I also hear there's a huge turnover in the sorts of people who pilot drones, which I imagine are for similar reasons. People develop a conscience about shooting some poor bloke with a missile on camera.
I really do hope somebody goes with their conscience and makes enough noise about it publicly that the nukes do not fly. Especially when confronted with temper-tantrum Trump behaving like the usually unhinged lunatic that he is.
Trump can put a lot of yes men into the leadership but the Joint Chiefs would fight a truly idiotic order.
I'm not saying the military are orks. I'm saying Trump appears to be.
As you say, the possibility of a first strike has come up before and cool heads resisted. Unfortunately, Trump is not a cool head!
I don't fear him waking up on Tuesday with a headache and randomly nuking France to get his feelings out. I fear him being the man who decides in a crisis whether to use nuclear weapons or not. All other presidents, however belligerent, have done their utmost to avoid it. I don't think Trump would.
That's the thing, though. The rest of the administration is evil but mostly sane. The guy at the very top/center, with the authority to give the order, very possibly isn't.
Trump's not an Ork! That's an insult to Orks! He does not respect the WAAAAAGH! (Though I'm unable to determine which Warhammer 40K faction he would be.)
At least Orks can feel joy.
When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts”…
When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cajones to answer a single question…
When you have a President stand before the stars of the fallen CIA agents and boast about the size of his crowds (lies) and how great his authoritarian inaugural speech was….
These are not normal times.
The press has never seen anything like this before. The public has never seen anything like this before. And the political leaders of both parties have never seen anything like this before.
What can we do? We can all step up and say simply and without equivocation. "A lie, is a lie, is a lie!" And if someone won't say it, those of us who know that there is such a thing as the truth must do whatever is in our power to diminish the liar's malignant reach into our society.
There is one group of people who can do a lot - very quickly. And that is Republicans in Congress. Without their support, Donald Trump's presidency will falter. So here is what I think everyone in the press must do. If you are interviewing a Paul Ryan, a Mitch McConnell, or any other GOP elected official, the first question must be "what will you do to combat the lying from the White House?" If they dodge and weave, keep with the follow ups. And if they refuse to give a satisfactory answer, end the interview.
Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Chaos
Facts, Feminism, Facism
Boy people's brain are sure stuck in F words lately. I don't blame them.
He's too petty. He's a Skaven.
https://www.womensmarch.com/100/
The memes would be epic.
Well, the answer to any question raised in a headline is always "no", so the answer is obviously...
NO.
This. The Horned Rat is an amalgam of Nurgle and Tzeentch.
I think even in a fully-justified situation (say, North Korea misfires something that nukes Nowhere, South Korea), fear of armageddon would knock a good 10,000 points off the Dow. If you hit a major city, even as a one-off incident, 15,000 points off.
Uncertainty is the great economic catastrophe, and there's nothing more uncertain than "will i be alive tomorrow?"
Trump announces daily inauguration events to ease DC traffic woes.
The Trump administration is brought to you by the Letter F
Or they're giving the admin an opportunity to get ahold of as much (figurative) rope as possible.
She certainly seems committed to being an insufferable jerk about everything, so hey it makes for good tv and is useful to remind people that a key spokesfigure for the administration is an insufferable jerk.
"Let's get Conway on the line, SNL has plenty of material, but let's see if we can't get them something really good."
No
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Unfortunately there is nothing that can shock Trump voters. There is nothing low enough. If they don't care about Trump's dubious links to Putin, why should they care about Conway and her complete disregard for the truth?
No. No don't ruin Skaven for me.
He's an incompetent Imperial Governor or Lord General. The kind that is insulated by power and sends countless men to their deaths to no good purpose. Or the kind of man who sits atop so much institutional inertia that even he can't fuck up a Hive City too badly.
Trump tweets "Sad!", "MAGA", and cackles with madness in his eyes and his twitter finger rots off. A sign of favor from the Horned Rat
Never have I been so conflicted in my life.