Sometimes I'm ashamed to call myself right wing

[Currald]

From The Onion:

Libertarian Reluctantly Calls Fire Department
CHEYENNE, WY—After attempting to contain a living-room blaze started by a cigarette, card-carrying Libertarian Trent Jacobs reluctantly called the Cheyenne Fire Department Monday. "Although the community would do better to rely on an efficient, free-market fire-fighting service, the fact is that expensive, unnecessary public fire departments do exist," Jacobs said. "Also, my house was burning down." Jacobs did not offer to pay firefighters for their service.

[Darth Wong]

snip

Did you even read the passage? It's clear Chomsky is talking about anarchists in specific, not the much broader category of people who are critical of the government.

And anarchists are not exempt from paying taxes, even though they would like to be. So you feel that it's hypocritical of them to try and get as much of their tax money back as possible?

IP is correct; if you are an anarchist and you seriously believe the government ought not exist, you have no business receiving benefits from it.

Bullshit.

I see the logic has failed to penetrate your skull. Let's take another example: suppose there's an unstoppable super-thief running around who steals peoples' wallets but sends his victims a check giving 3/4 of their money back. You oppose this person's methods and think he should not be allowed to operate. Does this mean you will refuse to cash the check? On principle?

[Jalinth]

We definitely have a power hungry schoolmaster in this case.

Also, I find it very repugnant to order an employee handle their children in a certain way or risk being fired. In my view, this constitutes an illegal (and unenforceable) order.

Hopefully the local school board will agree and decide to fire this guy for not censoring his own actions.

[frigidmagi]

On the government program. I've to say, they already paid for it like it or not, so they might has well benfit from it.

It makes no sense to refuse something you've paid for.

On the topic:

Can we ship this princpal over to Iran/N Korea/China/Sudan for a few days? I mean being critical of the government is the fucking national sport, EVERYONE does or should be doing it. One of the reasons I won't ever move out of this country is the right to call my leaders a bunch of no talent dickheads whenever I damnwell please.

Blindly accepting everything the government tells is more dangerous to the United States than any poem could ever be.

[RogueIce]

Wait, a military liaison, at a public high school?
What?

ROTC instructor maybe?

JROTC instructor? That's possible, but this story would be extremely sloppy in referring to them as a "military liason" as such. JROTC instructors, at least in my experience, are all retired from the military.

Well, they have JROTC at least.

But yeah, I'm 99.9999% sure the instructors have to be retired. So, in essence, it's not so much a "military liason" as a private citizen, more or less (though if it is one of the instructors, odds are he was in uniform, and was quite remiss for doing this). The only other possibility I can think of is a recruiter, who would be equally dumb for taking part in it.

Military liason? I guess they didn't bother taking the time to find out, just saw a uniform. Meh, for all we know it was some Cadet, though I find it odd a Cadet and the principal would be acting together like that (possible I suppose).

[Lord Sander]

Maybe it's me being European (or Dutch, or just.. me) but I find the whole concept of anything military, let stand recruiters, being anywhere near a public high school to be somewhat disturbing in its own right.

[Jalinth]

Maybe it's me being European (or Dutch, or just.. me) but I find the whole concept of anything military, let stand recruiters, being anywhere near a public high school to be somewhat disturbing in its own right.

Must be you being European
It isn't that unusual in the US . One of my high school teachers recruited a few of us for Band (Cdn Forces) mostly because her existing crop were pretty bad musicians .

As far as I'm concerned, treat it like any other club - if kids want to participate - great. If not, fine. Just don't force them to join if they don't want to. I've read some US universities banned the US military and certain other agencies from attending career days for many years (theoretically because they discriminated - probably because they cary guns and are therefore "evil incarnate"). Apparently the US government stopped the bans by threatening to cut off all federal funding (research grants, programs, you name it) if they weren't given equal access as any other employer. IMHO, a reasonable stand.

[RogueIce]

Maybe it's me being European (or Dutch, or just.. me) but I find the whole concept of anything military, let stand recruiters, being anywhere near a public high school to be somewhat disturbing in its own right.

Not really. They're like any other job trying to get people, really. Granted they come around more often, but then most jobs don't entail the sacrifices that the military does, so I guess it helps having them around, to be able to answer questions and whatnot by people interested.

That, and with many parents who probably don't want to see their kids enter military service straight out of high school, it's about the only way they'll probably ever see them, unless those kids all happen to have cars (not always).

As for JROTC, it's all supposed to be a citizenship program. Teach you some discipline, leadership, followership, physical fitness, all that good stuff. It's not supposed to "encourage" you to sign up, and there's no committment. It can also give you a small taste of what military life is like, to a certain extent (it is high school, after all, and not every unit is the same when it comes to stuff like that). In addition, they (the instructors) can give you some more "unbiased" information (unlike recruiters, JROTC instructors don't have any quotas or "missions" to fulfill) and anyone, not just the Cadets, can, in theory, ask them about it. But, since the instructors are all retired, their experiences may not be like what the military is like nowadays. But they can give you an idea, at least.

Just my two cents on the whole thing. Either way, they're not forcing you into anything (though recruiters can be very convincing ).

[Uraniun235]

Wait, a military liaison, at a public high school?
What?

My high school had a representative from the Marine Corps in the commons (a big gathering area adjacent to the cafeteria) with a desk and pamphlets. He pretty much just stood around there and talked to kids. He wasn't particularly aggressive in public (in fact, I don't recall him ever approaching students), although I've heard stories of the military recruiters being very aggressive after you've filled out an ASFAB (Aptitude something something test... basically tells the military what you're good for).

Said representative was in uniform. I don't think it's a bad idea... considering that my high school was half hicks, with agriculture and auto shop classes (we had SHEEP and greenhouses adjacent to the high school!), some of those kids might well have needed the military to ever hope to be able to afford attending a university.

My guess would be that this "military liaison" does the same thing, only more zealously, and apparently has a problem with people criticizing AMERICA. He's probably buddies with the principal, and they decided to defend AMERICA as a united front or some such nonsense.

[Stuart Mackey]

I have said it befor, and I will say it again. America could never go communist, but there is every chance that they could go fascist.

Two sides of the same coin.

Both fascism and communism are just boob bait for the mob to swallow in order to make them compliant to their masters.

Certainly in practice, Communism is responsible for just as much, if not more, misery and death as any brand of Fascism ever practiced.

snip

Given that its America we are talking about its the history of the word Communist..it does not fit at all with America and its values, call it "what flavour of dictatorship would you like, sir?"

[Stuart Mackey]

Not to mentioned practiced every once in a while.
McArthism didnt quite get there, mayby the supporters of a beefed up Patriot act wont either..but hey, third times the charm, right?

We survived domestic military tribunals, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the outright suspension of habeas corpus and the jailing of anti-war newspaper editors, reconcentration for Filipinos, internment for Japanese-Americans, and McArthyism.

I think the U.S. republic has some resilency. We'll overcome USA PATRIOT.

Dont forget slavery and the Jim Crow laws. Dont worry..with all these dictator wannabe's your bound to get luky some day and have your very own Apple Pie, All American Dictatorship.

[Superman]

Glocksman, communism is worse than facism? I think we would need to point at specifics here, but need I bring up Hitler's Final Solution?

[Stofsk]

Glocksman, communism is worse than facism? I think we would need to point at specifics here, but need I bring up Hitler's Final Solution?

What about Salin's 5 year plans?

Evil is evil, for crying out loud. Who cares if it calls itself fascism or communism?

[Stuart Mackey]

Glocksman, communism is worse than facism? I think we would need to point at specifics here, but need I bring up Hitler's Final Solution?

Mao killed of 20 million of his own pwoplw in one go Stalin did something similar.

[Wicked Pilot]

But yeah, I'm 99.9999% sure the instructors have to be retired. So, in essence, it's not so much a "military liason" as a private citizen, more or less (though if it is one of the instructors, odds are he was in uniform, and was quite remiss for doing this).

They are retired, but they still do in a way work for the DOD. They are paid by the school district as if they were a normal teacher, and the military suppliments their pay so that they make that which they would in their last pay grade.

[Tsyroc]

I knew a lot of people who had been in JROTC during high school. All of them seemed to be rather disappointed with the reality of the actual military when compared to what they thought they were getting into after JROTC.

[Vendetta]

Glocksman, communism is worse than facism? I think we would need to point at specifics here, but need I bring up Hitler's Final Solution?

Totalitarianism is the same no matter what colour it's wearing. The claimed ideology is, at the end of the day, irrelevant. Totalitarian governments, whether they're fascist, communist, or just a total bastard like Saddam or Mugabe, are about control over the populace.

Haven't you read 1984?

[RogueIce]

I knew a lot of people who had been in JROTC during high school. All of them seemed to be rather disappointed with the reality of the actual military when compared to what they thought they were getting into after JROTC.

Yeah, well, supposedly it gives you a small taste then.