Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Systemic Biases

I was reading a profile of former California Governor Jerry Brown.  He is living a more private life on his farm.  He also serves as the head of the board that maintains the "clock" that measures the threat of nuclear war.

Within that story it was noted that the "clock" stands at 100 seconds to midnight...nuclear war...and that it had not been changed with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had increased the alert level of Russia's nuclear forces.  President Biden elected not to make a corresponding adjustment to the alert level of America's nuclear forces.

Based on what I see, I think President Biden's choice was correct but that isn't what prompts me to set fingers to keyboard.

It is my opinion that this would not have been the situation had the nations been reversed.  Had the US President increased the alert level of our nuclear forces, then the "clock" would have certainly been moved towards "midnight".

Such is the bias of international non-governmental organizations and the media that report on their activities.  Their reactions are predictable and inequitable.  A shift in American policymaking is greeted with significant responses.  A shift in the whims of the world's dictators barely ruffles the feathers of those international organizations.

Monday, March 7, 2022

Review: The Girl in the Gun Club: My Time as One of the Few Good Men

The Girl in the Gun Club: My Time as One of the Few Good MenThe Girl in the Gun Club: My Time as One of the Few Good Men by Tracy Salzgeber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everyone has a slightly different experience serving in the Marine Corps. This book tells the story of SSgt Sulzgeber's ~13 years on active duty.

As with every other Marine, she's still a Marine - just a No-LOAD (No Longer On Active Duty), like me!

I went into this book expecting to read the worst. My brother Marines have a bad and well-deserved reputation for treating our sister Marines pretty poorly. I figured this book might lean into that negative reputation.

It didn't. There were some instances where SSgt Sulzgeber experienced negative consequences due exclusively to her gender. Far more frequently, her gender caused a little extra negative consequence on top of other, larger consequences that are the sort of routine stories Marines tell one another all the time.

That doesn't make those "extra" consequences right, it makes her story real.

I'd recommend this book to any Marine (active, reserve, No-LOAD) as well as to any person that is looking to join the Corps. It is an unflinching look at both the good and the bad when it comes to Marine Corps leadership and their care and feeding of the average jarhead. I'd recommend it for non-Marines as well, just be prepared. Marines can be pretty salty.

There are tales of success. Tales of failure. (SSgt Sulzgeber doesn't pretend that she is the second coming of Dan Daly or Smedley Butler). Tales of frustration at the hands of bureaucracy. Tales of success despite the best efforts of "leaders" to create failure. Tales of stress. Tales of the random goofiness that comes with being in the military (in general) and the Corps (specifically).

The book is well written and unflinching. I could not put it down.

Outstanding job, Marine!

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