Professional Reading Drop Box

[Flash]

View attachment 16740

Sigh, find me a similar list of scores or hundreds of GOFO's that endorsed Reagan or anyone before him and maybe you'll prove me wrong. Same with Medal of Honor recipients, who seem to be sought after endorsements nowadays as well.

What I do know is that is was, and still is for some, a practice among some senior military officers not to even vote so as to distance themselves from politics.

 

[Pags]

Sigh, find me a similar list of scores or hundreds of GOFO's that endorsed Reagan or anyone before him and maybe you'll prove me wrong. Same with Medal of Honor recipients, who seem to be sought after endorsements nowadays as well.

What I do know is that is was, and still is for some, a practice among some senior military officers not to even vote so as to distance themselves from politics.

I've been looking around while getting my tire fixed and haven't found a good fact source one way or the other. I've found a few older articles from the 08 and 12 elections that bemoan retired GOFO endorsing candidates. Currently you or I can't quantify whether there's an increase in endorsements or not which leads to my gripe with your statement that (paraphrasing) "it's getting worse."

another interesting metric to compare would be if there's an increase in the number of GOFO who are being asked to give endorsements. Because of the ongoing wars is it now seen as a requirement for politicians to get military endorsements to "prove" that they have what it takes?

At the end of all this I agree that, regardless of numbers, the whole thing, from GOFO endorsements to other GOFO telling their retired GOFO that they shouldn't have opinion, still feels icky.

 

[Flash]

I've been looking around while getting my tire fixed and haven't found a good fact source one way or the other. I've found a few older articles from the 08 and 12 elections that bemoan retired GOFO endorsing candidates. Currently you or I can't quantify whether there's an increase in endorsements or not which leads to my gripe with your statement that (paraphrasing) "it's getting worse."

I would feel pretty comfortable saying there has been an increase, from almost zero in fact. I have done some searching and can't find any significant endorsements from GOFO's in the post-WWII era before the 90's and Admiral Crowe much less the scores that endorsed Clinton and President Trump or the hundreds that endorsed Romney.

 

[Pags]

I would feel pretty comfortable saying there has been an increase, from almost zero in fact. I have done some searching and can't find any significant endorsements from GOFO's in the post-WWII era before the 90's and Admiral Crowe much less the scores that endorsed Clinton and President Trump or the hundreds that endorsed Romney.

I edited my post above to include this:
"At the end of all this I agree that, regardless of numbers, the whole thing, from GOFO endorsements to other GOFO telling their retired GOFO that they shouldn't have opinions , still feels icky."

 

[Pags]

Also, I find the notion that some random 2-star's endorsement matters laughable.

While I don't know if it included former GOFOs, the Grand Army of the Republic exerted huge amounts of political pull in the post-civil war era.

 

[Flash]

Also, I find the notion that some random 2-star's endorsement matters laughable.

To a degree that is true but the open and partisan politicking of retired GOFO's is a bit worrisome. Even without Flynn you have General Allen speaking at the Democratic convention and General Schwarzkopf speaking at the Republican one in 2000, from the deck of the USS New Jersey no less, among many other recent examples. The endorsement letters are just a symptom of the larger issue.

While I don't know if it included former GOFOs, the Grand Army of the Republic exerted huge amounts of political pull in the post-civil war era.

The GAR was composed almost entirely of citizen-soldiers and not professionals, makes sense when even a good chunk of the GO's in the Civil War were not professionals.

 

[Uncle Fester]

The GAR was composed almost entirely of citizen-soldiers and not professionals, makes sense when even a good chunk of the GO's in the Civil War were not professionals.

Not to mention a couple of GOs who sought commissions strictly because it'd help them in post-war politicking. Sickles and Butler in particular were politicians in uniform. Very few of the noteworthy generals were in uniform when the war started; Lee was an exception (being an active duty colonel in '61). Though almost all of them were West Pointers.

 

[nittany03]

Not to mention a couple of GOs who sought commissions strictly because it'd help them in post-war politicking. Sickles and Butler in particular were politicians in uniform. Very few of the noteworthy generals were in uniform when the war started; Lee was an exception (being an active duty colonel in '61). Though almost all of them were West Pointers.

And Sickles certainly proved that at Gettysburg.

Sickles: "Hey, let me take this random orchard!"
Meade: "Dafuq? I didn't order you over there!"
Longstreet: "You're gonna regret that, buddy."

 

[Pags]

And Sickles certainly proved that at Gettysburg.

Sickles: "Hey, let me take this random orchard!"
Meade: "Dafuq? I didn't order you over there!"
Longstreet: "You're gonna regret that, buddy."

I've never read anything that specifically says as much, but I think the Civil War, like the Boer War for the Brits, was the death knell of the "political/noble commission." The Union had so many terrible generals who were commissioned/promoted based on who they knew and it almost cost them the war. Other than a few odd examples such as the Rough Riders i can't think of many other cases where the performance of generals was so troublesome.

 

[nittany03]

I've never read anything that specifically says as much, but I think the Civil War, like the Boer War for the Brits, was the death knell of the "political/noble commission." The Union had so many terrible generals who were commissioned/promoted based on who they knew and it almost cost them the war. Other than a few odd examples such as the Rough Riders i can't think of many other cases where the performance of generals was so troublesome.

I think the example that proved it was dead was TR in WWI. He volunteered to raise a division and go overseas in command of it, and the Wilson administration basically told him to pound sand. Of course, his being in the GOP probably had something to do with that as well.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I think the example that proved it was dead was TR in WWI. He volunteered to raise a division and go overseas in command of it, and the Wilson administration basically told him to pound sand. Of course, his being in the GOP probably had something to do with that as well.

Helping a political opponent become a war hero again isn't something politicians usually do. Just a few years earlier TR split the Republican vote and allowed Wilson to get elected, after all.

It's interesting to speculate how 1914 might've gone if TR had been back in the White House.

 

[Randy Daytona]

This recently became available on Amazon - The Geopolitics of Contemporary Russia by Alexander Dugin. Thought I would give it a go. Any thoughts on the book or the author?

Alexander Dugin traces the geopolitical development of Russia from its origins in Kievan Rus and the Russian Empire, through the peak of its global influence during the Soviet era, and finally to the current presidency of Vladimir Putin. Dugin sees Russia as the primary geopolitical pole of the land-based civilizations of the world, forever destined to be in conflict with the sea-based civilizations. At one time the pole of the seafaring civilizations was the British Empire; today it is represented by the United States and its NATO allies. Russia can only fulfill its geopolitical mission by remaining in opposition to the sea powers.

https://www.amazon.com/Last-War-Wor...95&sr=1-1&keywords=foundations+of+geopolitics

 

[Jim123]

Dugin sees Russia as the primary geopolitical pole of the land-based civilizations of the world

Vizzini agrees

 

[nittany03]

This recently became available on Amazon - The Geopolitics of Contemporary Russia by Alexander Dugin. Thought I would give it a go. Any thoughts on the book or the author?

Uhh . . .

Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ге́льевич Ду́гин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political scientist known for his fascist views who calls to hasten the "end of times" with all out war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin

On first glance, the author seems to be a world-class nut.

 

[Randy Daytona]

Uhh . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin

On first glance, the author seems to be a world-class nut.

Some of his material appears to be required reading on the Russian General Staff. If Field Marshall Ivan is reading it, then I am curious to take a look at it. I believe I posted this earlier from Foreign Policy. http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27...n-ukraine-eurasianism-manifest-destiny-putin/

EXCERPT
The Unlikely Origins of Russia’s Manifest Destiny
How an obscure academic and a marginalized philosopher captured the minds of the Kremlin and helped forge the new Russian nationalism.