I am a retired USAF officer. I retain my commission in case the need arises for my return to active duty. I will speak to those who have not served in a sincere effort to have you understand military culture in light of the repugnant video that Kelly, Slotkin, et al just released.
There is no more destructive thing that can arise among the ranks than a belief that orders can be disobeyed except under the most extreme circumstances (i.e., Calley/My Lai). Should any other ethos supplant this, all good order and discipline dissolves. In war, men (most of whom are young) are often ordered to accomplish objectives which put them at great risk of catastrophic injury or death. Close your eyes for a moment and try to put yourself in their place. Once the culture permits disobedience of much less immensely impactful orders, human nature will take over and chaos/mutiny will likely ensue when we most demand sacrifice for our country. As one combat veteran Marine commentator (who lost both his legs in Afghanistan) said: Kelley and the other military vets who were a party to this video never saw combat. They never faced the reality of what combat demands. I served under a Commander-in-Chief whom I despised (Bill Clinton), yet I would have obeyed his orders except under the most extreme circumstances; otherwise, our nation has no protection from our military.
Kind of explains why Matt’s numbers seem to be plummeting. If you believe the Substack numbers, which I suspect are highly inflated as it is, he’s lost about 20,000 subscribers over the last 8 weeks.
Matt starts to say something...Walter interrupts with a question. Matt tries to answer question...Walter interrupts, changes topic.
This is unwatchable. Sorry, guys, but you started on hunger and wind up arguing about Thanksgiving starting after the pilgrims were dead...I can't take anymore..
Sure their interchange is different from over-produced podcasts,, but that's what I love about it. It's just enough "producing", bringing in some clips at times, but not too much. It always feels we're sitting at table with them, chatting it up over drinks. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Ali.
Illegal order: Kill that family. Illegal order: Arrest that mayor. Illegal order: Shoot those protestors. Illegal order: Invade that city and shut it down. Illegal order: Arrest that unfriendly politician. I can think of a million illegal orders. Walter is reaching. Officers know what an illegal order is. Think My Lai. Think Kent State.
Who is giving these types of orders presently? Walter is not asking about hypothetical stuff but currently relevant. What orders are illegal? What does “invade that city” mean? What city got invaded?
What to do when Matt Taibbi experiences a brutal week for two Trump causes he has been openly and enthusiastically championing for weeks?
DOGE and the Comey and James prosecutions ignominiously crashed and burned and have exposed for the shams they were. DOGE not only failed to achieve any of their cost saving goals they promised, they resulted in needless performative suffering for millions while our private data was hoovered by rightwing billionaires with extremist agendas and glaring conflicts of interest.
With respect to Comey, James and Weissman, Taibbi was one of the only journalists to cover these prosecutions as meritorious and not blatant political payback that would have made Richard Nixon blush. Mind you, the cases, were so flimsy and malodorous that no one in Trump's own DOJ wanted to touch them, but still they found a warm and eager reception on the pages of The Racket, with Taibbi insisting that the crimes were so complicated that ordinary Americans couldn't understand them (the assumption being only someone with Taibbi's massive brain could comprehend these atrocities). Of course, yesterday both cases were laughed out of court.
So what is Taibbi to do with such a depressing scenario? He, of course, decides to jump straight into the culture wars he pretends to abhor and talk for nearly two hours straight about how NPR ruined Thanksgiving for him because they aired a piece about poverty.
Wow, no sympathy for Walter who just spent time with the wife and associates of the assassinated Charlie Kirk. Tough crowd. I for one agree with both Matt and Walter, why can’t we just enjoy Thanksgiving, without ramping everything up to DEFCON 5 levels of absurdity, feeling guilty, picking sides, etc. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, no religion attached to it, no patriotism, no politics. One of my first directives as head of a small company was giving everyone not only Thanksgiving off, but the day after. So my employees could enjoy a long weekend and give thanks as they saw fit.
Happy Thanksgiving Matt and Walter, keep those episodes coming!
You're obviously not a believing Christian.So therefore incorrect about no religion attached to Thanksgiving. It is religious holiday as the pilgrims fled England to escape religious persecution. They wanted to worship God their way in their new American colony.
Around 14 minutes, when they're trying to make sense of the picture with the calculator and the apples: it's been a while since I laughed so hard I got light headed. Thanks for that. :)
I expect the writers and speakers of the article you are reading from are NOT going to mention that, since roughly 1960, the U.S. Congress (henceforth referred to as “they” and “their”) has given away billions upon billions of dollars’ worth of food to the entire world EXCEPT to “white Americans.” The U.S. Congress fed the entire planet, and still are, as payoff that those populations behave themselves and not revolt against U.S. military bases around the world. All this without the American taxpayer knowing anything about it. In other words, the American taxpayer paid the bill, but again and again and again, got no benefit(s).
They only granted free food to “white Americans” grudgingly. Black Americans, they gave freely; later, to Hispanic Americans, them too got free food. But to white Americans, fagettaboutit: Let ’em starve.
——-
In the 1960s, there were no free lunches. If one ate at the school cafeteria or the nearby pizza parlor, one paid for it.
As for me and my older brother of a working mother, we weren’t rich enough to pay restaurant-level lunches. We had one hour to eat lunch: we ran home, handmake a hasty bologna sandwich, eat it and some milk, and run back to school. In high school, that was six, seven blocks, times two. And when I say “ran,” I mean it. Twenty-minutes to get home; twenty minutes back. Twenty-minutes to eat lunch. This is in all weathers. Upstate New York. Rain, shine, snow, or wind. No choice. And, no, not uphill both ways. We had no chauffeurs. There were no buses to home-in-twenty-minutes.
When did free lunches start? The 1970s? It hadn’t come into vogue until after I was out of high school. Why, and how, did the institution of free lunches happen? And who qualifies? Is it all students?
——-
All one must to know how white Americans felt like while starving is to read accounts of living through the 1930s’ Great Depression. Have the writers EVEN HEARD OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION? My mother (born 1920s) was one who lived through the twenty years (1930 to 1950) of privation, and man, even though we were in the flush 1960s, weekly, my brother and I heard about my mother feeling hunger all the time in her past. On the other hand, my father, he hadn’t been deprived at all during that time. She never forgot “the big hunger,” but my father never experienced it. The issue of hunger was a bone of contention between them. The 1960s were divided into two kinds of whites: ones who remembered the Big Hunger and those who didn’t. Most all Americans that were born old enough to remember the 1930s have died; one born as late as 1945 are 80.
Whites are people, too. And there have been hundreds of millions of poor whites in America who, frankly, have been ignored on not only their own sufferings, but also on their contributions of feeding the entire planet’s populations for seventy-five years. Those at NPR are a bunch of UNGRATEFUL FUCKERS {“🖕🏼”} (and I shall swear here). And they have done lousy research.
No worries. Those of us who cherish an America we knew in our youth will not abandon our nation. If it becomes a physical fight, we have 2A and what we teach our children an (in my case) grandchildren. I remain hopeful.
I'm having a hard time understanding whether you think this is good or bad or n/a. Please explain.
I have a hard time coming up with either tweaks or viable alternatives to what I see as institutional and social degeneration. Do you really see us evolving towards a better future? I'm old and cranky, like Walter.
I haven't read the comments yet so maybe someone has made this point but I think we are ignoring the real threat behind the Disobey Illegal Orders video.
I believe I heard some congressperson in Arizona say it: basically saying if you follow Trump's orders, legal or not, when a democrat is in office we will come after you. The unsaid half of the "we have your back" line.
The political progressives always seem to champion the dismantling of existing structures which, regardless of their flaws, actually work fairly well for most socioeconomic classes. We can take our current system and actually tweak it with economic safety nets predicated upon the demand that the able bodied must work because it is morally proper, provided a living wage is paid, and that billionaires must pay their fair share to society. That patriotism and a genuine personal commitment to the good of all of our legal citizens should underpin all of our policies. That our nation can become better in many meaningful ways.
While Frank Zappa sadly strayed far from his cultural impact after about 1974, he did relate a profound story in 1969 of his band's visit to Berlin to perform. A few days prior to the show, anarchist "leaders" asked him to beckon the audience to go down the strasse and burn down a U.S. military USO facility. His answer: "You need evolution, not revolution." They subsequently tried to trash his concert performance, inspiring Frank to compose the song, "Holiday in Berlin".
Evolution, not revolution. Don't tear down unless you have a viable alternative.
There is hunger in the nation. There is also lots of waste. There is lots of junk food. SNAP program is not government waste I am particularly complaining about. But there are other programs that provide food.
One great point about Michelle Obama is her outreach to healthier food for African Americans worked surprisingly well.
I watched from right outside Detroit as Walmart shoppers with kids in tow went from filling their carts with cake, chips, and soda in 2012 to meat and vegetables in 2016. The vegetables section of the freezer aisle was constantly empty, despite being restocked daily.
I am a retired USAF officer. I retain my commission in case the need arises for my return to active duty. I will speak to those who have not served in a sincere effort to have you understand military culture in light of the repugnant video that Kelly, Slotkin, et al just released.
There is no more destructive thing that can arise among the ranks than a belief that orders can be disobeyed except under the most extreme circumstances (i.e., Calley/My Lai). Should any other ethos supplant this, all good order and discipline dissolves. In war, men (most of whom are young) are often ordered to accomplish objectives which put them at great risk of catastrophic injury or death. Close your eyes for a moment and try to put yourself in their place. Once the culture permits disobedience of much less immensely impactful orders, human nature will take over and chaos/mutiny will likely ensue when we most demand sacrifice for our country. As one combat veteran Marine commentator (who lost both his legs in Afghanistan) said: Kelley and the other military vets who were a party to this video never saw combat. They never faced the reality of what combat demands. I served under a Commander-in-Chief whom I despised (Bill Clinton), yet I would have obeyed his orders except under the most extreme circumstances; otherwise, our nation has no protection from our military.
Walter really seems to be in a very bad mood, stop interrupting Matt. Very hard to follow discussion! happy Thanksgiving to all!
I agree that Walter interrupts not letting Matt have his turn.
Kind of explains why Matt’s numbers seem to be plummeting. If you believe the Substack numbers, which I suspect are highly inflated as it is, he’s lost about 20,000 subscribers over the last 8 weeks.
Matt starts to say something...Walter interrupts with a question. Matt tries to answer question...Walter interrupts, changes topic.
This is unwatchable. Sorry, guys, but you started on hunger and wind up arguing about Thanksgiving starting after the pilgrims were dead...I can't take anymore..
Walter makes these videos unwatchable... I used to like watching these but from now on I'll just read the articles.
Sure their interchange is different from over-produced podcasts,, but that's what I love about it. It's just enough "producing", bringing in some clips at times, but not too much. It always feels we're sitting at table with them, chatting it up over drinks. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Ali.
You're partially right because it feels like I'm sitting at a table getting lectured by my dad. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
You two are a breath of fresh air. Fuck your negative viewers. They are cowards.
How many of those "one-in-eight people" who are food-insecure are in fact morbidly obese in the United States? 50%? 75%?
Illegal order: Kill that family. Illegal order: Arrest that mayor. Illegal order: Shoot those protestors. Illegal order: Invade that city and shut it down. Illegal order: Arrest that unfriendly politician. I can think of a million illegal orders. Walter is reaching. Officers know what an illegal order is. Think My Lai. Think Kent State.
Who is giving these types of orders presently? Walter is not asking about hypothetical stuff but currently relevant. What orders are illegal? What does “invade that city” mean? What city got invaded?
What to do when Matt Taibbi experiences a brutal week for two Trump causes he has been openly and enthusiastically championing for weeks?
DOGE and the Comey and James prosecutions ignominiously crashed and burned and have exposed for the shams they were. DOGE not only failed to achieve any of their cost saving goals they promised, they resulted in needless performative suffering for millions while our private data was hoovered by rightwing billionaires with extremist agendas and glaring conflicts of interest.
With respect to Comey, James and Weissman, Taibbi was one of the only journalists to cover these prosecutions as meritorious and not blatant political payback that would have made Richard Nixon blush. Mind you, the cases, were so flimsy and malodorous that no one in Trump's own DOJ wanted to touch them, but still they found a warm and eager reception on the pages of The Racket, with Taibbi insisting that the crimes were so complicated that ordinary Americans couldn't understand them (the assumption being only someone with Taibbi's massive brain could comprehend these atrocities). Of course, yesterday both cases were laughed out of court.
So what is Taibbi to do with such a depressing scenario? He, of course, decides to jump straight into the culture wars he pretends to abhor and talk for nearly two hours straight about how NPR ruined Thanksgiving for him because they aired a piece about poverty.
Lulz, the wrong-stuff troll strikes again. You assume a lot for an Ai.
Wow, no sympathy for Walter who just spent time with the wife and associates of the assassinated Charlie Kirk. Tough crowd. I for one agree with both Matt and Walter, why can’t we just enjoy Thanksgiving, without ramping everything up to DEFCON 5 levels of absurdity, feeling guilty, picking sides, etc. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, no religion attached to it, no patriotism, no politics. One of my first directives as head of a small company was giving everyone not only Thanksgiving off, but the day after. So my employees could enjoy a long weekend and give thanks as they saw fit.
Happy Thanksgiving Matt and Walter, keep those episodes coming!
You're obviously not a believing Christian.So therefore incorrect about no religion attached to Thanksgiving. It is religious holiday as the pilgrims fled England to escape religious persecution. They wanted to worship God their way in their new American colony.
And you can’t help but add Christianity to the discussion, missing the entire point of Walter and Matt’s discussion. Go troll someone else.
Around 14 minutes, when they're trying to make sense of the picture with the calculator and the apples: it's been a while since I laughed so hard I got light headed. Thanks for that. :)
Okay, I watched the first twelve minutes.
I expect the writers and speakers of the article you are reading from are NOT going to mention that, since roughly 1960, the U.S. Congress (henceforth referred to as “they” and “their”) has given away billions upon billions of dollars’ worth of food to the entire world EXCEPT to “white Americans.” The U.S. Congress fed the entire planet, and still are, as payoff that those populations behave themselves and not revolt against U.S. military bases around the world. All this without the American taxpayer knowing anything about it. In other words, the American taxpayer paid the bill, but again and again and again, got no benefit(s).
They only granted free food to “white Americans” grudgingly. Black Americans, they gave freely; later, to Hispanic Americans, them too got free food. But to white Americans, fagettaboutit: Let ’em starve.
——-
In the 1960s, there were no free lunches. If one ate at the school cafeteria or the nearby pizza parlor, one paid for it.
As for me and my older brother of a working mother, we weren’t rich enough to pay restaurant-level lunches. We had one hour to eat lunch: we ran home, handmake a hasty bologna sandwich, eat it and some milk, and run back to school. In high school, that was six, seven blocks, times two. And when I say “ran,” I mean it. Twenty-minutes to get home; twenty minutes back. Twenty-minutes to eat lunch. This is in all weathers. Upstate New York. Rain, shine, snow, or wind. No choice. And, no, not uphill both ways. We had no chauffeurs. There were no buses to home-in-twenty-minutes.
When did free lunches start? The 1970s? It hadn’t come into vogue until after I was out of high school. Why, and how, did the institution of free lunches happen? And who qualifies? Is it all students?
——-
All one must to know how white Americans felt like while starving is to read accounts of living through the 1930s’ Great Depression. Have the writers EVEN HEARD OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION? My mother (born 1920s) was one who lived through the twenty years (1930 to 1950) of privation, and man, even though we were in the flush 1960s, weekly, my brother and I heard about my mother feeling hunger all the time in her past. On the other hand, my father, he hadn’t been deprived at all during that time. She never forgot “the big hunger,” but my father never experienced it. The issue of hunger was a bone of contention between them. The 1960s were divided into two kinds of whites: ones who remembered the Big Hunger and those who didn’t. Most all Americans that were born old enough to remember the 1930s have died; one born as late as 1945 are 80.
Whites are people, too. And there have been hundreds of millions of poor whites in America who, frankly, have been ignored on not only their own sufferings, but also on their contributions of feeding the entire planet’s populations for seventy-five years. Those at NPR are a bunch of UNGRATEFUL FUCKERS {“🖕🏼”} (and I shall swear here). And they have done lousy research.
I still have more watching of this video…
70-something
Walter at 1:25:
No worries. Those of us who cherish an America we knew in our youth will not abandon our nation. If it becomes a physical fight, we have 2A and what we teach our children an (in my case) grandchildren. I remain hopeful.
I'm having a hard time understanding whether you think this is good or bad or n/a. Please explain.
I have a hard time coming up with either tweaks or viable alternatives to what I see as institutional and social degeneration. Do you really see us evolving towards a better future? I'm old and cranky, like Walter.
I haven't read the comments yet so maybe someone has made this point but I think we are ignoring the real threat behind the Disobey Illegal Orders video.
I believe I heard some congressperson in Arizona say it: basically saying if you follow Trump's orders, legal or not, when a democrat is in office we will come after you. The unsaid half of the "we have your back" line.
Exactly. Walter’s point about sedition is correct. As does Matt with the point about stability
Walter looks increasingly unhealthy. Stop vaping, Walter. Especially on camera.
The political progressives always seem to champion the dismantling of existing structures which, regardless of their flaws, actually work fairly well for most socioeconomic classes. We can take our current system and actually tweak it with economic safety nets predicated upon the demand that the able bodied must work because it is morally proper, provided a living wage is paid, and that billionaires must pay their fair share to society. That patriotism and a genuine personal commitment to the good of all of our legal citizens should underpin all of our policies. That our nation can become better in many meaningful ways.
While Frank Zappa sadly strayed far from his cultural impact after about 1974, he did relate a profound story in 1969 of his band's visit to Berlin to perform. A few days prior to the show, anarchist "leaders" asked him to beckon the audience to go down the strasse and burn down a U.S. military USO facility. His answer: "You need evolution, not revolution." They subsequently tried to trash his concert performance, inspiring Frank to compose the song, "Holiday in Berlin".
Evolution, not revolution. Don't tear down unless you have a viable alternative.
There is hunger in the nation. There is also lots of waste. There is lots of junk food. SNAP program is not government waste I am particularly complaining about. But there are other programs that provide food.
One great point about Michelle Obama is her outreach to healthier food for African Americans worked surprisingly well.
I watched from right outside Detroit as Walmart shoppers with kids in tow went from filling their carts with cake, chips, and soda in 2012 to meat and vegetables in 2016. The vegetables section of the freezer aisle was constantly empty, despite being restocked daily.
And it probably costed less to do so.
Missed that woman’s positive social message