Why do we poll Americans?

What I gather from this is that people think defense spending is too high when things are going OK and that it is waaay too low right after bad shit happens (Iran Hostage Crisis, 9/11). Whatever your opinions on defense spending, that just makes no sense. If "the public" thinks it's too low right after bad things happen, then presumably they think that the lack of spending contributed to the bad things in the first place. Americans, as a polling unit, have the attention span of a gnat. I could give a rat's ass what they think is too much or too little. It would be nice if people who actually have the knowledge and experience to say anything worthwhile on the subject would do so and ignore polls. Ugh.

Naval Academy Treats Surviving Gay Spouse With Dignity

Maybe that headline shouldn't be that impressive, but it is. Here is a touching story of a man whose husband -- a graduate of the Naval Academy -- died of a heart attack. They had been legally married in Iowa two years prior. When he approached the Naval Academy with his husband's request to be buried at the Naval Academy's Columbarium, he was treated like any other surviving spouse, and was offered the flag at the funeral. It's worth a read. Here's a snippet referring to the obituary published in the US Naval Academy Alumni magazine:

It noted his two Purple Hearts for “having been shot down from the sky twice in military missions.” It noted “for the rest of his life he would joke about his ‘government issued ankle.’ ” It noted “his burly but warmly gentle manner.” It noted he was “survived by his husband, Mark Thomas Ketterson.”

Dugway Lockdown

A Utah military facility that tests chemical and biological weapons was locked down "to resolve a serious concern,"

This does not sound good.

Julian Assange

I recommend this fascinating article by the New York Times executive editor that details the saga of dealing with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The professionalism between newspaper organizations is impressive, and Julian Assange is a bizarre guy. The article also makes a case for this type of journalism and discusses what WikiLeaks does and does not mean for journalism, culture, and government. It's long, but worth it.

Suicide in the Armed Forces

For the past two years, more servicemen and women have died at their own hand than in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That is shameful.

DADT by the numbers

I didn't know that enlisted men and women were more likely to be discriminated against compared to officers. (Enlisted make up 82% of the armed forces, and as you can see above, make up 98% of those discharged under DADT.) I'm fascinated by this fact, and I want to know more. Were people turning a blind eye when it came to officers? Did officers try harder to keep themselves closeted? Are there fewer officers who are gay?

I would also like to know -- by class, gender, etc. -- what percentage outed themselves (Dan Choi, for example) versus being outed by someone else.

Yay to the end of DADT!

UhMeriKuhns R Dumm an Fat

This is really really REALLY depressing.

A sampling:

The report by The Education Trust found that 23 percent of recent high school graduates don't get the minimum score needed on the enlistment test to join any branch of the military. Questions are often basic, such as: "If 2 plus x equals 4, what is the value of x?"

The military exam results are also worrisome because the test is given to a limited pool of people: Pentagon data shows that 75 percent of those aged 17 to 24 don't even qualify to take the test because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school.

Maddow on DADT

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Muslim Soldiers

I have mixed reactions to this piece about Spec. Zachari Klawonn, a Muslim soldier at Ft. Hood who has filed numerous complaints about harassment from his fellow soldiers. On the one hand, he seems to have some legitimate gripes and concerns about his safety. His Koran has been ripped up and threatening messages have been scrawled on his door. His commanders recommended that he be moved off base. According to Klawonn, though, he hasn't been paid his stipend. He's taking out loans to cover his expenses.

As I was reading, though, my reaction kept coming back to, "What is it with this guy? Maybe he's really annoying, and his religion is just a convenient way to attack him." Two other Muslim soldiers at Ft. Hood report that they have not had problems, even though they expected them after the Ft. Hood shootings. Klawonn broke down crying to his superiors and his mother and sister called and yelled at various people at Ft. Hood.

His mom called the base and, in broken English, berated anyone she could reach by phone. His older sister was more methodical, yelling her way up the chain of command. She could see what all the stress had done to him.

That sounds like an unpleasant person and not much of a tough-man soldier. The army seems to be trying to address the issues.

On the other hand, his roommates have been baffled by the negative treatment, and he is a model soldier--no reprimands in his file, tops in weapons qualifications, an invitation to try out for Special Forces.

As I've sat here writing this and reading the two articles, I think I've convinced myself that my initial response--looking for a non-religious explanation for his treatment--was not only incorrect, but also is a common and unpleasant reaction to civil rights issues.

Underlying my reaction was the thought, "If he'd stop being such a rabble-rouser, if he'd just put his head down and do his thing, if he'd stop complaining, then maybe people would leave him alone." That's a horrible and unfair reaction (and probably one shared by some of his commanders), particularly since I'm certain that the evangelical-type soldiers are loud and proud about their religion. Why should Klawonn be any different?

Now, having said that, there are always two sides to every story, and there may be non-religious aspects to this conflict. However, demanding equal rights and protection from fellow soldiers shouldn't be classified as out of bounds.

WikiLeaks Video

Forewarning: The following video is a gunsight video from an Apache helicopter during a conflict in which 12 people are killed and 2 children seriously wounded.



Two of the dead were Reuters reporters. Reuters filed a freedom of information act request to get the video. The were not successful, but WikiLeaks obtained and posted the video. The above is a short version. The longer version can be seen here.

I ignored all mention of this video and its implications for the first 5 days it was released. I didn't want to watch the video, so I didn't see the point in reading the various opinions on it. Then I decided that it was important to watch. I can't articulate why it is, but I feel strongly about it.

There has been a lot of discussion about this in the blogosphere, but a couple of my observations first.

1. It is a very disturbing video to watch. The dying people look like people-shaped specks and the soldiers seem cavalier about taking their lives. On the other hand, I don't know that we want to ask our soldiers to strongly identify with each and every life they take. They are asked to do an enormous task, and I don't feel comfortable judging their cognitive approaches to it.

2. I only watched the short video. It doesn't look like anything was going on when they started shooting. However, they clearly have a better vantage point than the gunsight video, because they talk about colors -- the video is in black and white. Also, at one point someone says that one of the guys is shooting. Again, it's really hard to make any judgments without any expertise.

3. Toward the end of the short-version video, they show a van with two children in the front, suggesting that the soldiers saw the children and fired anyway. The army contended they didn't know children were there. I actually feel like I can offer a reasonably informed opinion about this part. Inattentional blindness (see the bottom of the post for an example) is a well-known phenomenon, in which large and incongruous images in the visual field can be completely overlooked because the attention is focused elsewhere. In this case, I wouldn't be surprised if the children had little signs that said "We're kids," and were still overlooked. The soldiers were probably watching the grown men outside the van and could have easily missed the small children in the front seat of the van.

4. Demanding an accounting and explanation for what the tape shows does not mean that someone hates soldiers. It means that our military should be willing to defend their actions or be willing to acknowledge and address lapses.

As for the other views, see the roundup on The Atlantic.

The views include: War Crime, Doesn't Meet "Hostile Intent" Criteria, and Proper Military Conduct.


*If you want to see inattentional blindness, get someone else to view the video here. You might want to get a couple somebodies. It doesn't work on everyone, but even with two people, you have a high chance that at least one of them will miss the "unexpected event." Tell the person that it is a test of attention & there is a really big gender difference. Tell the person to count ONLY the basketball passes between the members of the WHITE team. They should not get distracted by the passes between the members of the BLACK team. Once they're done, ask how many passes they counted. Then ask if they noticed anything odd. Most people will not have noticed anything odd. Let them watch it again and tell them just to watch -- not to count. They should be surprised.

Bedrooms of Servicemembers

A poignant slideshow on the New York Times Magazine of the bedrooms of servicemen & women killed in Iraq. Most were killed in action, although one was a suicide.

So Many Hitlers!

A letter to the Washington Times from a retired Marine:

A small group of German officers opposed the loyalty oath to Hitler despite great political pressure. They courageously honored and respected the moral and institutional values they represented and knew to be right. We who are Marines are proud to see that our commandant has shown similar courage in the face of political pressure to allow avowed homosexuals to become Marines.

A cold chill shivers down the spines of men when they contemplate the physical acts of homosexual behavior. It is important the American people know that their Marines, and our commandant, have spine enough to notice and oppose this folly. I hope they will honor the many generations of Marines who sacrificed for American freedom and will remember to vote for and support those who will work to "keep our honor clean."

Semper Fidelis.

COL. ART CORBETT

So many things! First, the good news. This is written by an old fart! Old farts will die someday and take their homophobic ideals with them to the grave. Moving on. When will people learn that comparisons to Hitler are never accurate. I mean, unless you are talking about someone like Idi Amin, Hitler is just a bad metaphor. Does Col. Corbett really think that allowing out gays in the military (note: closeted gays are already allowed) is the same as overseeing the murder of millions of people? Really?

Next point, Colonel. Why is it homosexuals' fault that when you think of them, you automatically think of sex? Thinking of your wrinkly ass getting it on grosses me out, so let's strip you of whatever honors you earned as a Marine. Or is it that you always think of people of having sex, no matter what? Do you get a "warm shiver" somewhere other than your spine whenever you look at heterosexuals because you're thinking of their sex lives? Did that constant erection get in the way of your military duties?

Who Would You Enlist?

Play Who Would You Enlist on PBS and see if your recruitment standards are in line with Uncle Sam. Sam & I agreed on 3 of the 8 enlistees.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

2nd Lt. Sandy Tsao announced to her superiors that she was gay. She then wrote to Barack Obama and asked him to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. His response:

"Sandy--
Thanks for the wonderful and thoughtful letter. It is because of outstanding Americans like you that I committed to changing our current policy. Although it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs Congressional action) I intend to fulfill my committment! Barack Obama"

Another serviceman whose dismissal is pending because he's gay: Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point grad and Arabic language specialist.

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Don't hold your breath for Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Dan Savage is mopey because the Obama squad has indicated they want the military to "study" the effect lifting the ban will have on military discipline. I don't think he's going back on the promise to get rid of the idiotic policy, but he wants to do it in a way that will actually accomplish things. Of course, this could blow up in Obama's face. It seems at least plausible that the military will determine that gay-ing up the armed forces will make them all throw down their weapons and have lots of gay sex, further emboldening our enemies.

Women in the Military

Did you know we know have a female 4-star general? Well, we do.