"Motss decides to invent a hero who was left behind enemy lines, and inspired by the idea that he was "discarded like an old shoe" has the Pentagon provide him with a soldier named Schumann (Harrelson) around whom he constructs a further narrative including T-shirts, additional patriotic songs, and faux-grassroots demonstrations of patriotism. At each stage of the plan, Motss continually dismisses setbacks as "nothing" and compares them to past movie-making catastrophes he averted.
When the team goes to retrieve Schumann, they discover he is in fact a criminally insane Army prison convict before their plane crashes en route to Andrews Air Force Base. The team survives and is rescued by a farmer, but Schumann attempts to rape the farmer's daughter and the farmer kills him. Motss then stages an elaborate military funeral, claiming that Schumann died from wounds sustained during his rescue."' wiki on WTD
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There is just so much BS out there this year. The meme attack team at Ft. Brooklyn is working over-time to produce an unfavorable meme per day on Trump.
The latest stupid thing is the falsehood that claims Trump said the US military is WEAK psychologically. He did not say that. He said that SOME people exposed to combat stress are not strong enough to bear the pressure. I know that psychiatrists are busy selling the self serving idea that returned soldiers or evidently also those who have never been exposed to combat stress are wounded children. A lot of moms like that idea, but those who have fought know that what he said is profoundly true. Some people are unaffected by combat stress and others crumble at the thought. Others soldier on however much they quake inside. A woman up in Ottawa asked me once if I were one of the crazy brave or the phony tough. I should have asked if she had more options.
"Good ol' Shoe" rides again. pl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYT39lMdmbM
The actual Trump quote:
"...Look we need that so badly and when you...when you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it. But a lot of people can’t handle it. And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie, nobody would believe it..."
Trump did not call anybody weak. The people on my side of the aisle have spun this into a dig at members of the military suffering from PTSD. Not our proudest moment.
Posted by: Edward Amame | 04 October 2016 at 02:30 PM
Mr. Trump has historically said that our enemies do not respect America because America's military is too weak. !?!!???. "How To Get Rich" p.2 is photo of "my nemesis & mentor" honorary Col. Theodore Dobias, 50-yr headmaster & drill major of the New York Military Academy, born a Czech. Trump learned spit+polish, in-your-face screaming, wooden-soldier dissociation from emotions at early age, and has not changed. I believe he's like Scott playing screaming Patton, with contempt for lesser mortals not angry and fearless all the time. Fearlessness is good, but anger must be tempered with pragmatism, humanism, and compassion in the true soldier, in order to avoid fascism (thus America's soldiers are greater than Imperial Japan's). America needs our true soldiers, not military academy Napoleonics. IMO.
Posted by: Imagine | 04 October 2016 at 03:16 PM
Among the current media misrepresentations and the increasingly "muffled zone" of free speech, this is relevant: two people were arrested when one asked a question of Dennis Ross at a public event held at a Kansas City library.
from http://www.timesofisrael.com/man-faces-trial-after-criticizing-israel-policy-at-dennis-ross-panel/
"Issues arose after Ross finished speaking and took a question from Jeremy Rothe-Kushel concerning whether Jewish Americans like Rothe-Kushel should be concerned about actions by the US and Israel that amount to “state-sponsored terrorism. 'When are we going to stand up and be ethical Jews and Americans?' Rothe-Kushel asked. When Rothe-Kushel tried to ask another question, a private security guard grasped his arm, followed by an off-duty police officer, both employed by the Jewish Community Foundation. Rothe-Kushel then shouted, 'Get your hands off of me right now!' Steve Woolfolk, director of public programming for the library, tried to intervene. Both men were arrested by off-duty officers."
Posted by: Castellio | 04 October 2016 at 03:36 PM
PTSD: National Center for PTSD: "PTSD can happen to anyone. It is not a sign of weakness." Estimates 11-20% of Iraqi/Enduring Freedom vets have PTSD.
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp
That's a huge number of vets + families affected.
Posted by: Imagine | 04 October 2016 at 05:17 PM
Colonel,
I wonder if, for the woman who asked you that question, Hillary Clinton is "one of the crazy brave or the phony tough". Some folks are no better than they should be.
Ishmael Zechariah
Posted by: Ishmael Zechariah | 04 October 2016 at 05:34 PM
VIPS call for Obama to talk with Putin:
https://consortiumnews.com/2016/10/02/obama-warned-to-defuse-tensions-with-russia/
"forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us"
Posted by: Imagine | 04 October 2016 at 05:50 PM
EA
I thank you for your honesty. Would the Trump people do the same if they had the skill? Probably but they lack the skill. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 05:58 PM
Imagine
Have you ever been a soldier? pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 06:45 PM
Colonel, this country, for this election, and mostly do to the democrats, is now so polarized that I have not ever seen in past 40 years here. I see, that media jurnalist openly and without need or care for balance in thier reporting, take sides, IMO,this media biase is originated deep inside the corporate media, and is mostly one sided. I can see American people are mostly confused, as to who and what is the real truth, while they are being feed thier daily dose of lies that they get from thier goverment and supposedly independent media. This now is to a point that the goverment, and their subservient media don't even care or are shamed if and when their lies are reveled or proven wrong. We now see, and are very used to this daily cycle of goverment and media lies, and it's immediate refutation,erevelation and explenation of the real truth, by small independent analysts like yourself, without any explanation or apology from the lying in side. If required they just change a line or two and move on.
Posted by: Kooshy | 04 October 2016 at 06:51 PM
I concur with that. His voice was soft and I translated the whole statement as having empathy, serious empathy, He is, of course, inartful at times but this clearly was not intended to be a put down of folks with PTSD.
Posted by: BabelFish | 04 October 2016 at 06:52 PM
Imagine
11 to 12% potential PTSD cases? That would line up with my experience. The rest do not get PTSD. The military needs to identify the 11 to 12% BEFORE they are allowed to join and refuse them enlistment. Psychiatrists are a menace to good order and discipline as are a lot of journalists. We have several psycho invalids from VN hanging around at SST whining and spewing venom to assuage their pain. I have no use for them. War is a business for the strong in body and mind. It is not an activity for weaklings. I am, of course in favor of first class care for the truly impaired. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 07:00 PM
pl, regarding PTSD, do you think there would be a difference between a soldier who is fighting a war defending his country which is under direct attack, and say, a war where a soldier goes away to in effect attack another country to "defend his country's interests"?
Posted by: Peter AU | 04 October 2016 at 08:35 PM
Col. Lang:
Regarding PTSD: Research has indicated that vulnerability to PTSD lies in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Specifically, individuals with a smaller hippocampus are vulnerable to PTSD. I presume that an MRI scan would indicate which soldiers are at risk.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110322105257.htm
Posted by: Liza | 04 October 2016 at 08:41 PM
Liza
Thanks. What is the function of the hippocampus? It is noticeable in combat that the vulnerability often seems inherent and therefore probably biological. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 09:02 PM
Could you please explain what you mean by "fearless?" When in his life has Trump ever been in a position where he had to overcome fear?
Is every blowhard fearless just because he compulsively shoots his mouth off - and is cushioned by $1 billion rom any negative consequences?
Posted by: michael brenner | 04 October 2016 at 09:03 PM
Peter AU
Very little. IMO politics moves the needle a little but not much. Really good soldier whom I knew in combat often hated the policy that led to war but they fought better than others who agreed with the policy but just were not good at the job. I think the behaviors are inherent in individuals and in some sense in related populations. IMO we are dealing with inherited proclivities. The hippocampus thing is interesting. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 09:06 PM
We should bear in mind that homo sapiens are the only species that fights wars. Other mammals, even primates, don't have the capacity to organize or to abstract meanings and objectives that are required for war. Their violent fights are all brief and keyed to matters of survival. Essentially, it is only the Reptilian brain that is involved in those fights with a small contribution from the next evolutionary level of mental function that always for a measure of cunning.
Hence, the human experience of war is one that our physiology is not prepared for since our greatly enhanced capacity for organized violence has far surpassed the rest of our psycho-somatic apparatus.
No wonder we are vulnerable to stress. Isn't the question, therefore, how is it that most humans are able to fight in wars without cracking up?
Posted by: michael brenner | 04 October 2016 at 09:14 PM
Concur with that as well. Billary have again shown their is no depth to which they will not descend in order to win the presidency.
Posted by: James Loughton | 04 October 2016 at 09:14 PM
Michael Brenner
It is easy to talk about things of which you have no personal experience. There is a bigger world than that of academia. I would be more impressed if you had chosen to serve. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 09:18 PM
Col. Lang:
The function of the hippocampus is long-term memory.
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Hippocampus-Functions.aspx
Posted by: Liza | 04 October 2016 at 09:49 PM
Follow-up. Military technology that permits fighting at a distance far from the battle-field and the enemy avoids this contradiction generated by sustained fighting. People who push buttons, though, encounter another contradiction. Their Reptilian brain is not engaged in combat even as their brain's higher functions are activated is killing people. Hence, the hormones that can override effects of the latter are dormant. This likely is the source of the PTSS that some of the drone operators snug in a Nevada cubicle experience.
Posted by: michael brenner | 04 October 2016 at 10:00 PM
Pat - your comment is irrelevant. I have experienced exactly the same amount of combat as has David Petraeus - not to speak of Donald Trump. If we all scorned "book knowledge" we'd have no trouble with PTSD since we'd be living in caves like Neanderthals and fighting brief skirmishes with clubs.
Posted by: michael brenner | 04 October 2016 at 10:06 PM
I would be careful linking the size of one's hippocampus (or any organ) to causation of PTSD.
Before you know it, we're into phrenology all over again.
Posted by: ked | 04 October 2016 at 10:08 PM
ked
Phrenology and physiology are the same thing? pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 10:15 PM
Michael Brenner
David Petraeus is a terrible soldier. you want to be compared to him? The self-serving idiot now wants NFZs in Syria. Did you not dodge the draft? pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 04 October 2016 at 10:17 PM