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Avowed communist in uniform.

Discussion in 'Vets and Friends' started by Rob_BW, Sep 26, 2017.

  1. TCassidy

    TCassidy Late-Administator Emeritus
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    Already made it.
     
  2. Rob_BW

    Rob_BW Well-Known Member
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    Are you supporting mercantilism?

    You must be older than I had thought.:D
     
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  3. JonC

    JonC Moderator
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    I remember @TCassidy telling us about a tea party he attended in Boston years ago.....
     
  4. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    No you didn't. You just made the idiotic claim that an argument could be made that capitalism is antithetical to the Constitution.

    The only thing you said even remotely relating to your ignorant claim is that the Constitution predates capitalism and communism, which is also false.
     
    #44 JohnDeereFan, Sep 28, 2017
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2017
  5. TCassidy

    TCassidy Late-Administator Emeritus
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    I take it you never took a course in Economics in college?

    The world wide economic system (for the most part) from the middle ages to around 1700 was agrarian serf/landowner.

    In the early 18th century that began to shift to Mercantilism. Companies such as the Dutch East Indies Company pretty much ran the economies of the European nations.

    In the late 18th century that began to shift, mostly in France, to an industry based economy, largely due to the invention of the automatic shuttle cock which made the textile industry able to produce 10 times the cloth formerly produced by hand looms. And from those humble beginnings the Industrial Revolution changed the economy from Mercantilism to Industrial by around the 1830s.

    In the US the northern states began a transformation to an industry based economy but the south maintained the Mercantile modal until after the Civil War in 1865.

    As the US Constitution was ratified in 1787 neither Capitalism (1830) or Communism (Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital in 1867) existed at the time so neither can be proven nor disproved by the US Constitution.
     
  6. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    I believe he is a bellwether and others will follow (I'm still wondering if this whole thing is a prank).

    The komrades saw the apparent success of overthrowing the NFL (which was met by a huge resistance of the deplorables) - next they will try the military.

    That won't work either.


    HankD
     
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  7. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    Why doesn't he have a military haircut?

    HankD
     
  8. TCassidy

    TCassidy Late-Administator Emeritus
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    He does. Standards have changed a lot in the last 50 years. High and tight is no longer de rigeur.

    And both pictures were taken at West Point.
     
  9. JohnDeereFan

    JohnDeereFan Well-Known Member
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    ....this, of course, coming from the idiot who thinks the Constitution predates capitalism and communism.

    SERIOUSLY? You really think capitalism and communism here invented by the Constitution and Marx, respectively?

    And you impugn my understanding of economics? When you were a baby, did your crib have lead paint, by any chance?
     
  10. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    Uh sorry but you fail to understand economic. Simply saying we were agrarian and went to industry does not disprove free market principles. All it does is shift the primary type of product or service.
     
  11. TCassidy

    TCassidy Late-Administator Emeritus
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    Yes, Communism is based on the economic theory advanced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the second half of the 19th century.
    You may want to read what I actually wrote again. Capitalism was an outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution. It post dates the ratification of the US Constitution.
     
  12. TCassidy

    TCassidy Late-Administator Emeritus
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    <Sigh> I didn't say it disproves free market principles. Mercantilism was an early form of the free market principle. I said that Capitalism post dates the Constitution of the US.
     
  13. Squire Robertsson

    Squire Robertsson Administrator
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    Folks, you know how much a punctilious pendant Tom can be at times and on certain subjects.
     
  14. Reynolds

    Reynolds Well-Known Member
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    I don't know what the Rules of West Point are. I don't know if you can write things in your hat or display an undershirt. Aside from those points, which may be rules violations, I see nothing wrong. I don't take it that he means military conquest. I take it that he means ideological shift. It would be possible to Ammend The Constitution to the point we become Communist.
     
  15. Reynolds

    Reynolds Well-Known Member
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    In that statement, you are absolutely............Correct!
     
  16. Rob_BW

    Rob_BW Well-Known Member
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    Oath of US officers:

    I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

    Rapone on Twitter: The US Constitution is bad, folks.
    http://archive.is/Um72T
     
  17. Reynolds

    Reynolds Well-Known Member
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    An ideological shift toward Communism that led to proper Constitutional Ammendment would not be violating The Constitution. Obviously, something has been "bad" with The Constitution several times, because it has been Ammended.
     
  18. Rob_BW

    Rob_BW Well-Known Member
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    Here's a chunk of a Sofrep article on his Ranger school drop:

    The Ranger Instructor (RI), who does not wish to be identified, confirmed that he was present and witnessed firsthand multiple acts of defiance and disrespect from Lt. Rapone to various members of 5th RTB, to include senior enlisted personnel and officers, which included sharing his political beliefs which run counter to the interest of the United States and could easily be construed as those consistent with an “insider threat.”

    In the Mountain phase at Ranger School, students conduct a 10-day field training exercise (FTX) where they are graded on their leadership abilities while conducting patrols. A student needs to only pass one patrol, and most students are given two or three patrols to achieve this “go” in order to advance to Florida Phase.

    According to the RI, Lt. Rapone failed all three of the graded patrols he was given during the FTX. However, he received favorable peer reviews, and the lengthy written reports from his graders indicated that Lt. Rapone was tactically competent, but simply failed certain critical no-fail tasks during each of his graded patrols. Under normal circumstances, this results in the RI’s telling the Ranger student that he or she will be recycled, to join the next class and try the phase again.

    However, during Lt. Rapone’s counseling session when he was told he had failed the phase by a Sergeant First Class RI, he became disrespectful, to include swearing and showing no military bearing. At Ranger School, students do not wear rank, and therefore while Lt. Rapone technically outranked the RI, his rank was meaningless at the time.

    After this display was reportedly heard by two nearby First Sergeants, they intervened to tell Lt. Rapone that he was now going to be recommended for a drop from the course due to his insubordination.

    Going to a battalion board for only failing patrols is totally outside the norm. His apparent blatant disrespect to multiple senior NCOs got him presented in front of the 5th RTB commander, a Lieutenant Colonel, as well as every key member of the chain of command for 5th RTB, who would decide if he would recycle Mountain Phase, start over at Day 0, or be dropped entirely.

    Upon reporting for this board, it was clear to all present that Lieutenant Rapone was showing a disrespectful attitude in how he carried himself and interacted with the members of the board. Talking back, sighing, rolling his eyes; Lieutenant Rapone argued with the Lt. Col. and disputed the written reports of three separate RIs who graded him individually on three separate occasions.

    “There’s no f----ing way I failed that patrol” he reportedly said during this board.

    Before recommending a course of action, the Battalion Commander typically wants to understand the mindset of the student. Having his file, they knew he was a second lieutenant and a graduate of West Point. After asking about Rapone’s background and trying to understand his mentality as a leader, Rapone reportedly said that he disagrees with America’s military actions overseas.

    After telling Rapone that with his mindset he should not be leading soldiers, members of the board suspected Rapone was trying to goad them into dropping him, so that he would have a story about bold defiance in the face of authority. Knowing this, the commander suggested that retaining Rapone in the course would benefit him; an opportunity to train and grow as a leader.

    To this, Lt. Rapone allegedly replied “I feel like that’s just a threat,” implying that they would not in fact recycle him. With that, the commander announced that he would be a Day 1 recycle, and dismissed Rapone.

    At this point, Rapone reportedly continued to be a nuisance for the RI’s assigned to escort him back to Fort Benning, resisting even simple requests to help expedite his out-processing from the Mountain Phase.

    Once at Fort Benning, Lt. Rapone reportedly refused to restart Ranger School, rendering him a self-selected drop from the course, and what is referred to as “Lack of Motivation” (LOM) drop. An LOM is a mark of shame for an infantry officer. It is a career death sentence within the infantry community, especially with graduates of West Point. It does not force the officer out of the military, but an LOM will follow you, and every future commander will know that you quit Ranger School: an unofficial guarantee to not be selected for key assignments and your career will be over before it starts.

    SOFREP Exclusive: West Point grad and social media Communist quit Ranger School after sharing political beliefs with command | SOFREP
     
  19. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    He is a disgusting shame and an embarrassment.
     
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  20. HankD

    HankD Well-Known Member
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    I'll put it this way - I wouldn't want him watching my back.

    HankD
     
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