Today, much of society seems to worship the military: “thank you for your service” and so much more is common, perhaps more than ever before, even in major wars. But at the same time, the way the military personnel are being treated is disgusting – especially on the part of government entities. We are reminded of Matthew 15:8: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Now, we here at TPOL in no way support worshipping the military. We point out the hypocrisy of those who do – one of many, of course.
Fox News recently reported on a GAO report about living conditions on military installations, making 31 recommendations that DoD is expected to have to implement after inspecting 12 different (unnamed) bases and posts.
The litany appears to be damning. Those of us with decades of military service, in some cases going back 60 years and more, know that most of these problems with barracks (dormitories to USAF and USSF folks) have been around for a long time. Those of us who are historians and especially those who have been to and worked in historic military installations, from coast to coast, know these problems have been around for more than 150 years.
Which does not make them right, of course.
And not all of these problems are new. For example, the GAO found that there are homeless squatters who were found living in military barracks and dormitories. Even in the 1970s in hippie- and homo-infested San Francisco, security at the Presidio of San Francisco was sufficient that such was not a problem. (Yes, we did have other security problems, but not that.)
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Government funding of weapons training?
Late news: It is reported that the US House of Representatives voted 424 to 1 to overturn the provisions of the law which triggered this commentary.
The Cowboy State Daily reports that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is reacting to federal agencies interpreting that federal statute (2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)) as banning federal funds going to teaching hunter/firearm safety and archery. Wyoming G&F is providing funds to schools in the State to pay for instructors and materials to do just that: teach school students hunter (and therefore, at least some gun) safety and how to hunt using a bow and arrows (safely, of course). That foolish law prohibits federal education funds from helping provide any person with a dangerous weapon or to provide “training in the use of a dangerous weapon,” but, according to the BSCA’s sponsors, was included to prevent ESEA funding for school resource officer training.
Most of the commentary appearing is bewailing the efforts of the current regime of Uncle Joe and his co-conspirators to restrict or take away our right to keep and bear arms. (Which extends, we note, to archery as well as riflery and use of pistols.) And destroy the gun culture and its sister hunting culture.
Now, all of this may be exactly what is going on. (Although the appointment of the VPOTUS, dear incompetent and hated woman that she is, to head the new gun control office makes us doubt the claimed motives.) But is that really the point?
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