My weekly read-around…. JD Vance as what soldiers who have seen the elephant call a Rear-Echelon Mother Fucker; Pakistani growth vs. Indian, Bangladeshi, & Pakistan peer countries; advice on...
Re the “Gramm-Rudman-Hollings PayGo budget-straitjacket legislative framework.” As a journalist (of sorts) at the time, the GRHPG budget struck me as typical DC hustle: cosmetic cuts to get the incumbents through the next election, leaving the heavy lifting to the next Congress, which would, predictably, refuse to lift: “We came here to make the rules, not follow them!” As far as I can see, the only significant reaction the Reagan Administration made to cutting the deficit was its “revenue enhancements”, which effectively stabilized deficits that were far larger than anyone had ever seen in peacetime before, but were, at least, not increasing. GHWB tried to tame the deficits, infuriating "true conservatives" like Peggy Noonan and losing to Bill Clinton, who finished the job, only to have George Jr. blow everything up again. And the rest is history.
About the REMF: "Up Front" has long been a favorite, especially after I spent 1969 as an infantryman in Vietnam. My favorite is where Joe tells Willie as tracer rounds zip overhead: " I can't get no lower, me buttons are in the way." I've been there. Yes, Vance was a REMF. And yes, as the other comment points out, being a REMF doesn't mean one should denigrate their service. But there is a huge difference in risk between a REMF and an infantryman. And I think it shows up in Vance's "stolen valor" attacks on Walz, which emphasize how little he knows about military valor--which is about bravery in combat. Or it just shows how lacking in a conscience he is. I'm writing something about the hypocrisy of the Republican veterans in their attacks on Walz--I'll send it to Brad as an email to his Berkeley address and see if he'll read it and offer thoughts. These people are awful.
On the REMF: I’ve seen that Bill Mauldin cartoon before, and I don’t think it really applies to Iraq or Afghanistan. Iraq during the occupation wasn’t like Paris in the autumn of 1944. Granted, it wasn’t like the building-to-building fighting in places like Fallujah, the only relatively safe place for Americans in Iraq was in the Kurdish region. On resupply convoys or on patrols outside the wire, they faced ambushes and improvised explosive devices. Inside the wire, they came under rocket and mortar attack.
This isn’t to defend Vance. I simply don’t want to see the service of a lot of men and women diminished in the public’s consciousness just to smack-down one fool.
“ANOTHER IMAGE: Pakistani Growth vs. Indian, Bangladeshi, & Pakistan Peer Countries:”
So neoliberalism worked? Is that your point?
Re the “Gramm-Rudman-Hollings PayGo budget-straitjacket legislative framework.” As a journalist (of sorts) at the time, the GRHPG budget struck me as typical DC hustle: cosmetic cuts to get the incumbents through the next election, leaving the heavy lifting to the next Congress, which would, predictably, refuse to lift: “We came here to make the rules, not follow them!” As far as I can see, the only significant reaction the Reagan Administration made to cutting the deficit was its “revenue enhancements”, which effectively stabilized deficits that were far larger than anyone had ever seen in peacetime before, but were, at least, not increasing. GHWB tried to tame the deficits, infuriating "true conservatives" like Peggy Noonan and losing to Bill Clinton, who finished the job, only to have George Jr. blow everything up again. And the rest is history.
About the REMF: "Up Front" has long been a favorite, especially after I spent 1969 as an infantryman in Vietnam. My favorite is where Joe tells Willie as tracer rounds zip overhead: " I can't get no lower, me buttons are in the way." I've been there. Yes, Vance was a REMF. And yes, as the other comment points out, being a REMF doesn't mean one should denigrate their service. But there is a huge difference in risk between a REMF and an infantryman. And I think it shows up in Vance's "stolen valor" attacks on Walz, which emphasize how little he knows about military valor--which is about bravery in combat. Or it just shows how lacking in a conscience he is. I'm writing something about the hypocrisy of the Republican veterans in their attacks on Walz--I'll send it to Brad as an email to his Berkeley address and see if he'll read it and offer thoughts. These people are awful.
Complete lack of conscience and empathy, I think. I'm circling around to believing that JD Vance is the Talented Mr. Ripley...
On the REMF: I’ve seen that Bill Mauldin cartoon before, and I don’t think it really applies to Iraq or Afghanistan. Iraq during the occupation wasn’t like Paris in the autumn of 1944. Granted, it wasn’t like the building-to-building fighting in places like Fallujah, the only relatively safe place for Americans in Iraq was in the Kurdish region. On resupply convoys or on patrols outside the wire, they faced ambushes and improvised explosive devices. Inside the wire, they came under rocket and mortar attack.
This isn’t to defend Vance. I simply don’t want to see the service of a lot of men and women diminished in the public’s consciousness just to smack-down one fool.
It Takes a REMF To Know One.
Thanks for the cite.
Glad that long term memory is still working.