Posted on 08/25/2005 1:58:22 PM PDT by prairiebreeze
The federal government is doing something right now that is exactly the opposite of what it should be doing. It is forgetting to think dark. It is forgetting to imagine the unimaginable.
Governments deal in data. People in government see a collection of data as something to be used, manipulated or ignored, but whatever they do with it, it's real. It's numbers on a page. You can point to them.
To think dark, on the other hand, takes imagination--and something more.
As adults living in the world, we know some things. As Murphy taught us, if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. As the journalist Harrison Salisbury said, in summing up what he'd learned in a lifetime observing history, "Expect the unexpected." As JFK taught us, "There's always some poor son of a bitch who doesn't get the word"--someone in the field who doesn't know what's going on and does exactly the wrong thing. As Ronald Reagan once said in conversation, man has never invented a weapon he didn't ultimately use. And as life has taught us since 9/11, we live in a dangerous age and the dangers aren't over, if they will ever be.
When you think dark, you're often and inescapably thinking with your gut, a vulgar way of referring to a certainty that lives somewhere between your spirit, soul and intellect. Your gut knows things your brain can't assert as fact because they're not facts, not yet. It can take guts to listen to your gut.
Right now the federal government is considering closing or consolidating hundreds of military bases throughout the U.S. A government commission is meeting this week to vote on specific base-closing proposals in the Pentagon's plan.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I trust the recommendations of Donald Rumsfeld far more than the new found military expertise of ole Peggy.
It's a thought. Another point, and what I told my wife when she asked my opinion of the base closings, is political. I'm not convinced that the closings will in fact save all that their proponents project them to. But I am convinced that there will be a political cost to implementing them.I just am not sure that this is the hill I want Republican Congressmen dying on.
Well, tell us what you think having a base nearby will protect you FROM?
Red Dawn
After some time, quite possibly we will have to open some new bases. But this present move won't have been a waste, because the new bases will have advantages (location and design) to fill the modern-times needs.
"We don't need them because we must never change the structure and operations of our defense system."
"This of course is pure guessing on my part. I can't prove it with data."
Thankfully the BRAC is not made up of people who think we must never change the structure and operations of our defense systems, and who have actual data to back up their position.
Yesterday I was going to post a reply in exactly the same vein, wondering if I was the only one who was nervous about the proposed base closing. Once we close them, they won't be coming back. And if we need them?...
If a Republican president used nukes, they would start impeachment proceedings the very next day. The cry would be heard around the world.
On the other hand, if a socialist democrat used nukes, he would be "brave" and "strong" and "disciplined" and "caring" and "thoughtful" when he used them.
Bad guys, :^D.
I've decided it's something from my childhood, a sense of security at having all those bases around.
I'm glad I posted the article, I've gotten some good, sensible responses.
The American solution lies in something we do not hear much about these days: self-reliance.
Prepare now for the emergency you foresee. Self-defense, first aid, communications, warmth, food, water, fuel, light. Breathing filters, bio-suits, freeze-dried foods and MREs are widely available. Frankly, if your home is not self-defended already, it should be.
And if you want to help in the coming emergency, sign up with your local fire department for a great training program called CERT - Community Emergency Response Teams. (Grant funding is available from Homeland Security.) Take Red Cross training in First Aid. Learn to use your weapon as a TOOL to defend yourself, and your family. You may even buy a remote place to ride out the emergency far away from any city.
Be prepared. It's the Boy Scout Motto.
If Hillary gets in she will use them....it's her destiny to start the end of the world.
Illegals could be housed on closed bases until we know if they are clear to enter. On the other hand, the way things are going, they could put us native-born Americans there until they decide what to do with us. I'm sure there's a use already being studied. I'm just not sure I have the stomach to find out what the final decision will be.
Internment camps. I've considered the need for them lately, not necessarily for illegals though. Hmm..
Think high above earth. Very high.
I see we've thought exactly the same thing about this matter, prairie. This does not seem to be the time to consolidate bases. But I trust Rumsfeld and we shall have to wait and see.
Thinking "dark" isn't something I have a problem with most days and it's interesting Peggy chose that particular phrase.
Exactly. And when the dark times come, nobody's going to help us. We'll have to do it all, ourselves.
I honestly think we have more bases than we need, and that it's stupid to spend money on bases kept open mostly for political purposes when it could be spent on something more militarily useful.
Of course we should think dark, in the sense of being prepared for trouble. But trouble doesn't necessarily require more bases.
Well, I do worry about China. That said, having Rumsfeld, Bush, Rice and Cheney in charge is about as good as it gets IMO.
Base closings and military strength are not necessarily related. Many bases exist ONLY for political reasons and hurt, not help, our military. Imagine trying to run a business and you were required to have facilities located where politicians told you to have them, not where you actually need them....(We waste A LOT of money supporting bases that do NOTHING to defend our freedoms.)
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