I Don't Want To Shut The Door On 'Stupid', But...

This year is far from over so I am reluctant to crown this is the stupidest idea of 2014, but heaven help us all if someone beats this brainwave from Matt Yglesias:

The case against time zones: They're impractical & outdated

And yet we make it out of bed in the morning. The aggravation is illustrated:

If the whole world used a single GMT-based time, schedules would still vary. In general most people would sleep when it's dark out and work when it's light out. So at 23:00, most of London would be at home or in bed and most of Los Angeles would be at the office. But of course London's bartenders would probably be at work while some shift workers in LA would be grabbing a nap. The difference from today is that if you were putting together a London-LA conference call at 21:00 there'd be only one possible interpretation of the proposal. A flight that leaves New York at 14:00 and lands in Paris at 20:00 is a six-hour flight, with no need to keep track of time zones. If your appointment is in El Paso at 11:30 you don't need to remember that it's in a different time zone than the rest of Texas.

Hmm - no thoughts on that baffling "International Date Line"? Surely that should be poart of a comprehensive solution. Of course, scheduling international flights and arranging multi-zonal conference calls are what my kids call "First World problems". And even my Sarcasm Detector (Old Fogey edition circa 1960) lights up when they say it.

So, a factoid I like far too much to check - 90 percent of the people on Earth will die within ten miles of where they were born, kind of like Matt's latest idea. I don't think the farmers in Afghanistan or merchants in Somalia actually give much thought to Matt Yglesias' schdeduling challenges, and, maybe we are a poorer planet because of it. But seeing as how the tide of international cooperation seems to at a bit of an ebb just now, I doubt any international body will convene to laugh this idea out of the room.

And that's too bad - watching John Kerry's Undersecretary of Stupid make this pitch would be YouTube gold. And I have to believe some Minister of Malaise would rise up to denounce this transparent attempt at Western cultural hegemony. After which Obama could agree to base the standard time around Beijing, and we can have fun watching him explain that to the rubes in the hinterlands bitterly clinging to their TV Guide schedules. No, really, "Good Morning America" is coming on at 7 PM - get over it.

Hmm - I find myself warming to the notion. Someone will have to rewrite "After Midnight" and reshoot "Nine to Five", and somehow we have to get my mom to quit saying "Nothing good happens after 2 AM", but comedy isn't free.

Comments

[Jim Miller]

This may even make the national news, but in case it doesn't, here's the story of a discrimination lawsuit at Microsoft.

As you can see, there are some twists to the story.

[sbw]

"all across the deck just abaft the mainmast the officers and young gentlemen had the sun firmly in their quadrants and sextants, waiting for the moment when it should cross the meridian. The moment came: everyone was aware of it, but following the ancient ritual the master first told Mowett, and Mowett, stepping across to Captain Aubrey, took off his hat and reported to him that the local time appeared to be noon. ‘Make it so,’ said Jack, and noon it therefore became by law. Immediately after this the ship echoed to the striking of eight bells and the piping of hands to dinner,” -- O’Brien, Far Side of the World¯ Vol. 10.

[rich@gmu]

Jim-

not surprising. unfortunately.

[rich@gmu]

wouldn't be surprised if they settled out of court too.

[rich@gmu]

the things you learn at this here blog ..LAN

[Beasts of England]

You have at least two seasons already written, daddy! Remember what Joe Walsh said about handling the fortune and fame! ;)

[Danube on iPad]

Thanks so much, sbw. That's the way it was done.

How did you go back and retrieve that?

[Beasts of England]

Goodnight my friends. Regardless of the crazy world surrounding us, we are truly blessed...

[narciso]

stay safe, AB:

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/08/falling-apart-ny-mag-viral-story-about-israel-making-up-hamas-involvement-in-teen-kidnapping/

[daddy]

Just an observation on the topic of "people are stupid."

Up here the evening weekday line-up of Talk radio for the dog walks is terrible and keeps getting worse. About 6 PM now it turns into Michael Savage 2nd hour , Glenn Beck's last hour, Clark Howard, and Hermann Cain. (And terrible Sports Talk, unless it's Mariner Baseball if I'm lucky)

Then at 7 it becomes Art Bell replays, the Art Bell replacement on another channel , something called Ground Zero on another which is also aliens and nuttiness, and Michael Savage. (and terrible Sports Talk).

Then at 8 Savage leaves and somebody even nuttier comes on, but taking Herman Cain's place is a new show TMZ Radio.

TMZ Radio is all celebrity stuff---nothing but "Kardashian's ate here, Kanye said this, Kim wore that, Justin Bieber dated Miranda, etc." What strikes me in this latest Radio wasteland is that the TMZ Show has callers who call in with intricate involved comments and questions, making me realize that they know tons and tons of minutia about the lives of all these brainless celebrities, so that they obviously have brainpower, but it's brainpower that is wasted on knowing massively irrelevant stuff. It strikes me that if they knew Ben Franklin or The declaration or the Federalist papers or almost anything else to such a degree, these guys could and would be contributing to saving this Republic, but instead it's what Katy Perry's current diet is and should she have a baby or not.

So most of the time lately I find I'm turning the darn headset off for most of the walk, or searching FM for old rock tunes thru the static.

[rich@gmu]

get Jane a national radio program stat.

[narciso]

TMZ Radio, what fresh hell is this, meanwhile the president is enforcing economic patriotism, through new regulations

[sbw]

How did you go back and retrieve that?

Read it about 100 pages ago on my Kindle app. Marked it for my nephew. My FIL just gifted his 24-hour Navy clock to him so I taught my nephew about ship’s bells.

[Ignatz]

Miss Marple's 10:01 link on the stranded, dying Yazidis is heartbreaking.
There will almost certainly come a point some day when the West will have to fight an existential Gates of Vienna war again against these savages (hope Ace isn't reading). How many thousands and millions will die without hope before then?

[daddy]

Interesting Jim Miller,

An awful lot of negative comments in your linkt to the Indian HB-1 "Brainiacs" apparently running things at Microsoft.

Overall, including the comments, I counted charges of ageism, sexism, racism (standard variety), racism (anti-Hispanicism version), judgementalism, cronyism, and 2 versions of nepotism (the East Indian and the South Indian varieties).

[Skoot]

"Made in Kentucky from tobacco plants."

I've been taking that NiaGen -- Nicotinamide Riboside supplement since TM blogged it in Jan and I feel my power is discombobulatingly devastating!

prolly ain't but whateve...:)

tip of the hat to Iron Mike Tyson.

[Captain Hate]

Then at 8 Savage leaves and somebody even nuttier comes on

Unpossible

[Some Guy]

Yglesias is so behind on things. Doesn't he know that Friedman has the franchise on 'China is awesome in all things'?

China has no time zones, and if one ever had to travel to the far western areas... it SUCKS.

Idiot.

[Danube on iPad]

Wonderful, sbw.

"so I taught my nephew about ship’s bells." My beloved dad had one of those in the den where cocktails were served. Occasionally some unsuspecting lubber would hear "ding-ding, ding," and say "what time is that?"

The answer: "three bells."

[Some Guy]

BOE,

Love the Keep Calm and Roll Tide icon.

Even if I nearly always root against the Tide, though I no longer pick Auburn in the Iron Bowl since Scam Newton "matriculated" there.

Cheers

[Captain Hate]

I hope the Kurds can rescue the Yazidis since it's obvious 404 won't do a damn thing for them. It was obvious in the Iranian uprising that the JEF considers them as expendable as he does us.

[Some Guy]

CH,

The Emperor has no clues...

[narciso]

nothing to see hear;

http://patterico.com/2014/08/05/king-obama-contemplates-taxation-without-representation/

that would be George Nouri, who is beaming his show from Ceti Alpha 6

[Captain Hate]

I don't know, Some Guy; he seems to have a pretty good idea of how to destabilize the country and the world. Although his support has really dwindled to the small but significant number of people who wanted this.

[Ignatz]

When I was a lad in High School I took a crack at Winslow Homer's Eight Bells with an India Ink etching. It came about pretty good for a teenage goof.

That's Homer's not mine, BTW.

[Dave (in MA)]

Unpossible

Possible.

[Ignatz]

Perceptive comment at that Patterico link on taxation w/o representation;

You’re a State Senator in Illinois and you want every automobile dealer to “contribute $5,000.00 to your re-election campaign”. How do you do it?
A) Send out a solicitation to each dealer pointing out how business-friendly you have been and will continue to be.
B) Have your staff issue a press release that you are studying Illinois’s automobile dealer law that forbids direct sales from the manufacturer to the consumer (the “anti-Tesla” law) with a view to repealing it.
C) A & B.

It’s a fund-raising gimmick to squeeze big buck contributions for Democrats from the multinationals.

And he’s pulling the same crap with Israel, to squeeze the pro-Israel organizations, lobbies, and PACs. This is Chicago-style politics at its rawest.
nk (dbc370) — 8/5/2014 @ 4:59 pm

[Ignatz]

And one from the estimable Beldar;

Tonight as I was on my nightly walk with the Siberian Husky (a/k/a the “Dyerwolf”), I was seized by a sudden conviction that I then spent the next 45 minutes testing rhetorically, teasing it apart, wondering about its implications.

I’m pretty sure Barack Obama will not be successfully impeached in the Senate.

But suddenly I’m equally certain that he won’t relinquish office in a timely fashion — unless it’s under his terms, which will not be the Constitution’s.

The Chicago Democratic Machine of which he’s a part, the history of which explains his entire presidency, doesn’t go quietly. Indeed:

It doesn’t go.
Beldar (fa637a) — 8/5/2014 @ 7:14 pm

[MarkO]

Trout is 2 for 2 against Kershaw.

My old friend, Arte, is happy so far.

[jimmyk]

It’s a fund-raising gimmick to squeeze big buck contributions for Democrats from the multinationals.

I've always assumed that's the Democrat fund-raising strategy: "Nice business you have there, too bad if something happened to it...." I can't think of any other explanation for why Wall Street is full of Democrats. That plus the fact that regulations always end up benefiting the incumbents in any industry (including politics).

Republicans will always be at a disadvantage because if an R tries that shtick ("Nice business you have there...") the business guy will just laugh. The Dem really means it.

[rich@gmu]

Posted by: Ignatz | August 05, 2014 at 11:27 PM-

and just a few years ago that sentiment was confined to the loony fringe ... now, just not quite sure.

[Jim Miller]

Ignatz - I learned from Mike Royko that, in Illinois, those are called "fetcher" bills. (They have other names in other states.)

His joking example was a bill to require railroads to widen all their tracks by six inches. Such a bill was almost guaranteed to "fetch" a lobbyist, bearing gifts.

(That's in his Daley biography, "Boss", if you are wondering.)

[jimmyk]

Hey, Tigers beat the Yanks in 12. Now let's see tomorrow if Verlander can keep his mind on the game if Kate is in the stands.

By the way, TC, I agree about the DH. Everyone in the game should have to play offense and defense.

[Captain Hate]

This is how to deal with Juan:

http://therightscoop.com/are-all-whites-alike-mark-levin-rips-juan-williams-for-calling-tea-party-racists-for-disagreeing-with-obama/

[narciso]

'the horror, the horror' I apologize unreservedly. the auto task force was the first clue, then the IRS attack on the Tea Party and Top Men donors, now an attack on churches,

[rich@gmu]

so the immigration schtick can be seen as a fundraising ploy (in addition to everything else that it is) ...

pretty sickening.

maybe i'll fire up Arma-G$$$amn-Motherf**kin-Geddon

[MarkO]

There is nothing in baseball better than listening to Vin Scully.

How I miss Farmer John's.

[Paul Zrimsek]

Actually the International Date Line goes away along with the time zones; the entire world changes over to the new date at the same moment. Still Matt's international scheduling difficulties pale by comparison with the fun people in places like LA and Tokyo will have figuring out whether "I'll get back to you by Wednesday" means the business day that starts on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday, or the one that starts on Wednesday and ends on Thursday.

[Ignatz]

I love Vin but as an A's fan [and da Raiduzz] I sure miss those "Holy Toledos!" from Bill King.

[Captain Hate]

Republicans will always be at a disadvantage because if an R tries that shtick ("Nice business you have there...") the business guy will just laugh. The Dem really means it.

Chuck Schoooooooomer would be in jail in a just country that requires adherence to the law.

[narciso]

Another revelation from the real life Homeland serial, Apparently according to Bergdahl's fellow soldier, General Nullen admitted he was a deserter and wondered why so much expense
had been undertaken to recover him,

[Captain Hate]

I think I heard Tammy Bruce talking about that today, narc.

Nytol

[MarkO]

"the entire world changes over to the new date at the same moment."

Huh?

It has been August 6 in Russia for quite a while. Not so on the West Coast.

[Ignatz]

The wiki entry on Bill King is pretty good and well worth reading.
I had forgotten the incident in a Warriors game where he cursed at a bad call by the ref and somehow got the Warriors a technical. One of a kind. :)

[jimmyk]

Paul Z @11:48 nails it with that last point. Eliminating time zones just replaces one minor ambiguity with another big one. I mean, it really isn't that hard to say "I'll call you at 3:00 New York time," or whatever.

Liberals are always trying to fix things that don't require fixing. I'm sure Matty is steamed that we haven't gone over to the metric system, and that we never adopted that French revolution decimal calendar.

[narciso]

It's not an accident that the writer of House of Cards, started out working for Chuck U
Schumer

[Ignatz]

Matt Y has me confused. I think it's time for POI.
Is it 2100 hours everywhere?

[jimmyk]

MarkO, he meant under the system where everyone is on GMT. In that case it would be August 6th everywhere at 2400 GMT. Or is that 0000 GMT?

[jimmyk]

In fact, I bet Matty wishes we all spoke Esperanto and there were only one world currency (presumably managed by some bureaucrats in Brussels).

Did I get that subjunctive right?

[DrJ]

jimmyk,

I'm sure Matty is steamed that we haven't gone over to the metric system ...

Maybe I'm an odd one (don't ask MrsJ!) but I use the metric system for anything under a liter in volume or an inch in length. Over that amount I use the English/US measurements.

Most of my measurements are in micrometers and microliters, FWIW.

[rich@gmu]

indeed ... so maybe somewhere i'll get a good 8 hours of sleep.

not here and not this morning though...

[MarkO]

Have I mentioned that reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one?

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

[MarkO]

jimmyk,

Pluperfect.

[jimmyk]

Yeah, Verlander really has his focus on the game.

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/kate-upton-talks-justin-verlander-into-giving-her-a-baseball-030933933.html

So DrJ, when the cute neighbor stops by to borrow a cup of sugar, do you just look at her quizzically?

And I'm not going to go there on that "under an inch in length" business.

[DrJ]

For those of you who choose to view NRO, I have advice for those of you who use older computers: Don't.

Often I have a browser tab open to the Corner, which can have interesting news. In the evening I go to the web from a very archaic convertible (tablet/laptop), and the response can be really bad.

Tonight the web site I had open consumed 60% of a dual-core Intel CPU. I killed Flash. No difference. I killed NRO, and the CPU usage dropped to 5%.

On my main box it doesn't matter, but for resource-limited computers it does. The NRO web site loads all sorts of s**t that kills the performance of your computer.

Somehow that figures.

[DrJ]

jimmyk,

So DrJ, when the cute neighbor stops by to borrow a cup of sugar, do you just look at her quizzically?

Yup. I always have to run cups/quarts by MrsJ; otherwise I have no clue.

I will say that one neighbor is turning 98 in a few days. She's very cute, but in a different way.

[narciso]

Doug Adams, said about 30 some years ago, in the hitchhiker's guide, that the universe is a figment of someone's deranged imagination, there may be something to that,

[Comanche Voter]

Ah Little Matty--whatta genius!

He's been "stuck on stupid" since he was born.

[Danube on iPad]

Lovely painting by Homer, Iggy, but I'm having a hard time figuring out the connection between eight bells and taking a sighting with a sextant.

[narciso]

I'm beginning to think, he didn't read any 19th Century Russian history;

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2014/08/05/putins-not-such-a-great-strategist/

[Ignatz]

Here's an explication of what Homer was up to DoT.
Artistic license.

[Ignatz]

--The NRO web site loads all sorts of s**t that kills the performance of your computer.--

Weird. I was going to mention today that it was the first time in quite a while NRO loaded licketysplit and didn't drive me nuts.

[Threadkiller]

“Yeah, the fact that he’s from Kenya,” Jansing replied breezily. “And the fact that when he was elected there were expectations on the African continent that he would do great things for them.” 

http://dailycaller.com/2014/08/05/msnbc-reporter-accidentally-claims-obama-is-from-kenya-video/

Another accident.

[Man Tran on iPhone]

For all you guys shooting solar noon, don't forget that the sun can show up anywhere up to 20 minutes early or late depending on the time of year.

I proved it to my own satisfaction on my front deck using my military spec WILD T-2 that puts sextants to shame for precision. (Of course my deck isn't heaving in the swells.)

If you're looking for the term, it's Annalemma and you might remember that funny little figure 8 in the South Pacific on the school globe. :)

[anonamom]

Coffee time!

[Stephanie]

Bedtime!

[daddy]

According to this Washington Beacon story, The Federal Govt Created 400 New Crimes Since 2008.

If you add this 400 new Federal Crimes to the previously existing inventory of Federal Crimes, there are now 4,889 Federal Crimes on the books.

This reminds me of that old line about how you could spend an entire lifetime eating every meal at a different restaurant in NY City yet you'd still die before you ate at every one in existence.

Committing every US Federal Crime known to man is not quite as tough as that restaurant task, because according to my calculations if you committed a different Federal Crime each day, it'd take you 13 years and 4 months to commit all 4,889 Federal Crimes.

Not as impressive obviously as the NY City restaurant number, but on the plus side, if our Federal Govt stays on course with their previous track record, by the time you spent those 13 years and 4 months committing all those crimes, the Feds would have created another 850 or so in the interim. This means that you'd have to slog thru about another 850 Federal crimes, taking up an additional 2 years and 3 months of lawbreaking.

So if I start committing Felonies tomorrow, I should be caught up in about the year 2030. Better get cracking'.

[Miss Marple]

daddy,

I so sympathize with you about your radio programming problems. Our local stations seem to gravitate to the louder and uncompromising voices in the evening as well.

George Nouri has ruined Coast to Coast, which used to be more about the paranormal and UFO's but is now full of environmental doomsday, anti-GMO, quackery theories on medical cures, and thinly-veiled hits on Bush, although they were covering demonic possession when I woke up this morning.

I was listening to BBC overnight but since they went full Hamas with their international coverage I can't listen to them, either.

Also, someone should tell Dana Loesch that her yelling into the microphone like a nut case does not win converts to conservatism.
I often wonder if she is a mole.

[Miss Marple]

http://linkis.com/bit.ly/zUmp6

Millenials losing jobs to their grandparents, who are cheaper to hire because over-65's are exempt from Obamacare. Interesting article with figures and trends.

[Miss Marple]

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/08/ebola-airborne-verified-studies-show-airborne-transmission-of-deadly-virus-nih-lancet-osha/

I still think we should have followed the example of British Air and closed air travel with those countries in Africa which have confirmed cases.

[Pagar]

http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/08/anti-israel-prof-loses-job-offer-at-u-illinois-over-hateful-tweets/

IMO, more and more hireling is going to be affected by such postings.

[narciso]

Meanwhile the Top Men, do the important thing,
acting like the Alliance shills,crushing the Tea Party in Michigan (Bentivoglio) and Kansas,
(the last thing was a closer match, than expected

[Jane]

Dr J,

I sent your post about NRO to the publisher. Hope that's okay.

[Miss Marple]

Jane, I am glad you sent it, hope it's ok with DrJ.

I. too have a lot of trouble with the NRO site. I am on a 3-year old computer which is overwhelmed by whatever junk they clutter their site up with. Breitbart's site has the same effect. I avoid both of them as much as possible.

[Extraneus]

Try AdBlock Plus.

[DrJ]

That's fine, Jane. The NRO web site practically is unusable on this laptop, which should be plenty powerful enough to read a darned web site.

[NKLoggin'IN?]

"Longitude" going through last night's comments, it turns out that I wasn't the only person who read the book, and a cable Movie was made?

[DrJ]

Ext,

I am running both AdBlock Plus and FlashBlock. They may help, but not enough.

[Jane]

Okay, heard back. They are building a new website which should be done in about a month (and hopefully don't cost $840million).

[DebinNC]

The movie Longitude on YouTube.

[narciso]

Taylor Branch helped create this 'black legend'
while rehabilitating a nasty former G-2 thug, named Richardo 'the Monkey' Morales, now thathe can't defend himself, another scandal sheet slanders him, accusing him of being the fictional grassy knoll shooter:

http://babalublog.com/2014/08/05/then-shouldnt-the-family-of-orlando-bosch-and-armando-alejandre-carlos-costa-mario-de-la-pena-and-pablo-morales-sue-jesse-ventura-to-clear-their-names-and-get-an-apology/

[NKLoggin'IN?]

I'll have to read the book again and watch the movie version.

[DebinNC]

Prof. Salaita's undoing wasn't his continual rants against Israel, but taking Lord BOzo's name in vain several weeks ago. That sin is unpardonable.

[narciso]

Does anybody know what comment software Patterico uses, because I can't login, hence I've been using open links,

[Jane]

Marlene,

Part 3 of Nordlinger's Maine treatise is up today. I knew none of that about LePage.

Are you a fan? I sure am after reading that.

[Porchlight]

Catching up. Is there a better corner of the internet than the comments at JOM? No, there is not.

[Jane]

"don't cost "

How did that happen?

[Marlene]

Jane,I was just going to comment about Nordlinger's Part 3. It is great.Yes,we are fans. If Lepage were a Democrat,he'd be a big hero.I love Nordlinger saying you can't out-poor Lepage. He has zero tolerance for able-bodied layabouts. My husband has clients from north to south in this state and the real working class,the people who actually work,love Lepage.

[JiB]

If you liked the book and movie then you have to put the Greenwich Naval Museum on your bucket list. Lots to see and do. Harrison's timepieces are all on exhibit. Also the Observatory.

[Ignatz]

We have to applaud something that should happen every day, not hiring a Nazi like Prof Salaita, as courageous and sensible, when the real question should be who the hell would hire an obviously demented nutjob like that for picking up trash along the highway, let alone filling kids empty heads?

[narciso]

So it turns out there is another site, which is doing the Phillip Agee naming game, it has
operational postings, links to current assignment, I discovered I was wrong about the Kabul station chief that was blown, I'm waiting for the Southern District to go right after them, snark

[Sandy--Engorged Capital~Fallow Districts--Daze]

I'm not worried about the ebola at Emory.

In part becasue I AIM TO MISBEHAVE
(Wretchard doing what he does best.)

The comments are excellent.
The Brit NHS lying through their teeth (see Subotai Bahadur's comments)
A provocative view on life extension from Walt, an excerpt:

When time was short and life was cheap
A man would find eternal sleep
About the time his sons were men
And wound the clock around again
The generations rose and fell
Determined by the tolling bell
As sons reprised the father’s life
And daughters made someone a wife
In all it all made perfect sense
The shorter life in recompense
Allowed for newer ways of thought
To build upon what forbears brought
But now we find extended years
Bring forth the gravest of all fears
That father will not step aside
That novel thought he’ll not abide
That innovation is now dead
And what is past remains instead
For once a point of view is formed
That view becomes how thought is normed
The innovator now asleep
Till once again life’s short and cheap

[Miss Marple]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101892537

Poverty moving to the suburbs.

[narciso]

well they know of what they speak;

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-05/ukraine-alarmed-by-russian-buildup-as-un-says-people-flee.html

[Pagar]

DebinNC, nothing came up in the link, but I believe you're right.
------------
Daddy's post at 5:58 says 400 crimes added. I don't know know if they are new crimes but I would guess that the TSA and EPA have added thousands of new reasons why one can be jailed since the Obama regime began.

[jimmyk]

This reminds me of that old line about how you could spend an entire lifetime eating every meal at a different restaurant in NY City yet you'd still die before you ate at every one in existence.

Now is that a statement about the large number of NYC restaurants or the impact that eating at them has on your life expectancy?

[Sandy--Engorged Capital~Fallow Districts--Daze]

Question regarding Major General Harold Greene, Rest in Peace:

Anyone read anywhere if he was a Christian, and if so what flavor (Coptic? Protestant, Catholic) or Jewish?

I guess he could be another religion as well, I simply discount such because I have not seen any reference, as in "The first Buddist/Hindu/Islamic blah blah blah Army MG ...)
~~~

Also, this is not a personal attack on someone who died in service to his country, serving as a soldier in America's Army, but:

how to make sense of a Major General's career when the last thirteen years his nation has been at continuous war (he must have been a Major or senior Captain when 911 occurred) and this is his first/First/FIRST deployment into a war zone???

YGBSM.

What is up with that?

Shades of John Effing Kerry's "last man to die for a lost cause" trope.
How did this MG (or any Major General) get promoted to LTC, Col, BG and then MG without once being deployed to a combat theater?

I don't want to disparage the dead. By all accounts I have seen he readily accepted the orders and took the assignment.

But com'on BIG ARMY, shouldn't promotions reflect those on the front lines doing the deed?

Is in the rear with the gear a good path to career success ?

I guess that comes down to how one measures success.

Rant off.

[narciso]

Now I don't agree with all of it, but he's not a foolish man, so it's worth a hearing

http://www.klaus.cz/clanky/3553

h/t fluent historian,

[henry]

Sandy, my grandfather ended up with 3 stars via ordnance branch serving WWI through Korea w/o a combat zone posting (although Normandy Base Section command and later postings to ME and China were at least in theater). Simply a different part of the army. It is very rare to give such an officer command of combat troops, my grandfather got such a command as USARPAC after WWII, but his combat troops were transferred to MacArthur once Korea lit up.

[narciso]

An original even in his ignorance;

http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2014/08/05/not-ready-for-primetime-yglesias/